


College Woes

by danke_rose



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: A few other characters make appearances, But it's there, F/M, Language, Purity anti-mutant hate group, Sex, it's very very brief okay, kurtty - Freeform, mutual pining that eventually turns out okay, some violence but not graphic, wrote this for myself but you can read it if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:54:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23549491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danke_rose/pseuds/danke_rose
Summary: Kurt runs into a moral dilemma he can't quite sort out, so he calls up his loyal bestie, who's out of town in college.  He doesn't know she's been pining for him for ages.When the Purity group starts targeting Kitty in an effort to get her expelled from college, Kurt helps her find a way to shut down their little club.
Relationships: Kitty Pryde/Kurt Wagner
Comments: 46
Kudos: 17





	1. Unexpected Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> This randomly combines two different storylines at the beginning that don't actually happen simultaneously. Call it an AU and enjoy. :-)  
> Also, I'm not sure Wolverine actually killed the kid in question; I think he only wounded him, but for this story, we're going with dead.  
> Also, don't expect any of that storyline to even be in order. It's all over the place. Just go with it...like sea turtles in the jetstream....  
> I've been working on this and fiddling with it for a really, really long time now, probably a year at least, and it's about time it got finished up and thrown into the world. This quarantine has my brain frying, so if there's anything totally wonky about it, just chalk it up to that. Suspension of disbelief, folks, and enjoy!

Kitty sat cross-legged on the floor of her apartment, sorting papers for her classes. She was determined to make it through college, probation or not. Damn those Purity assholes anyway. Even here on campus, the fear and hate followed her like a shadow. No matter how hard she tried to hide from it, she turned a corner and there it was again.

She crumpled an old assignment, already graded and returned, and shoved it in her recycle bin. Her bag had accumulated way too many papers over the semester, and she joked to herself about carrying around an unnecessary twenty pounds every day. Once she finished weeding out her backpack, she turned to the stacks of work papers related to her current project. Her work in the lab on this particular project would become the basis for her thesis next year. Assuming she didn't get kicked out of school before then.

Her phone rang and she leaned over to grab it off the end table, grinning when she saw the number. It made her forget her troubles for a moment.

“Hey Fuzzy, what's up?” she said, pressing speaker and setting the phone down to keep working. Strands of hair that slipped free of her ponytail fell in her eyes, and she blew on them before tucking them behind her ear. Her project paperwork was in disarray from working late into the night and carelessly flipping through it the next afternoon for the data she needed.

“ _Hallo_ , Kätzchen. Are you free to talk?” He always said that when he called. Kurt was still in New York working with the X-Men, but they had maintained a friendship in spite of the way she'd packed up and left without a word to anyone, even him. Nobody knew where she was until she called and told them she'd enrolled at the University of Chicago's engineering school. But Kurt had forgiven her, and had already been out to see her a few times, most recently when she thought she saw Piotr Rasputin alive and well. She'd called Kurt to talk about it, and in anger and pain, she hung up on him when he questioned her. He'd surprised her with a visit and stayed up half the night with her.

“Sure. How are things?”

“Things are good, mostly. Another day, another near-death experience.”

“So, pretty normal,” Kitty laughed.

Kurt chuckled too. “No more of those strange flying sentinels?”

“No, I haven't seen any of them lately.”

He chatted idly with her for a few minutes, asking about her classes, friends, and projects until Kitty became suspicious.

“Kurt, did you call for a reason?” She set the stack of papers aside and stared at the phone, as if she could see him there. She wished he was there. She missed him.

“I can't call my dear friend just to talk?”

“Sure you can, but I _know_ you. You called for a reason. Are you okay?”

“ _Ja_. I'm okay. I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“ _Was_?”

“Go ahead. What's your question?”

There was a slight hesitation before he continued. “It is more of a story. Would you mind if I came for a visit?”

“I never mind seeing my favorite blue elf. When are you coming?”

She heard a muffled sound from the other end at the same time a sound came from her hallway. “I'm standing outside your door right now.”

Kitty shot to her feet, dropping the phone and scattering her freshly sorted papers with a curse. She flung the door open and smashed her cheek against his chest in a fierce hug. “You idiot, you should have said so before! Don't you ever call ahead?”

“I was afraid you would not want to see me.”

“Are you _kidding_? I _always_ want to see you!” On his face, lines of concern were barely hidden beneath the hologram of the image inducer. She touched his cheek in concern, velvet she could feel, unaltered by the false image. “You're not okay, are you?” She ushered him in and offered him a glass of water. “Sorry it's messy, I was working.”

“It's fine Kätzchen. I interrupted you.” He smiled, hands in the pockets of his pants. He looked good—he always did—in a sweater and jeans. But Kitty's apartment was warm. She lived on the third floor and no matter how low Kitty turned it down, it welled up from the two floors below and she roasted.

“You look good in blue,” she said.

“Bobby said it makes people think I'm shirtless.”

“That's why you wear it, I'm sure,” she laughed and noticed he didn't have anything with him. “You aren't staying, I guess?”

“I wasn't sure. I have a bag in the jet.”

“Well go get it, silly, you'll wanna change soon anyway. It's always hot in here.” She gestured to her own tank and shorts, and felt his gaze on her. She blushed at having drawn his attention to her body. He looked away, and before things could turn awkward, Kitty started shoving papers in her bag.

“Lemme clean this stuff up real quick while you get your things,” she said. He didn't move. “Unless you don't _want_ to stay. That's fine, whatever, you know...”

“I didn't know if you had time for a visit. I planned to get a hotel room.”

“Oh god, don't do that, the rates are stupid ridiculous right now. The couch wasn't _that_ bad last time, was it? Hell, I'll sleep on it if you want, and you can take the bed. I don't care, I'm just...I'm _so_ happy to see you.” She grinned as she rambled, but it was true—she was so, _so_ happy to see him. She smiled at him genuinely as she gathered her papers. It felt like she was on fast-forward, and she couldn't seem to calm down.

“All right. I'll be back in a minute.” There was a familiar _bamf_ and a smattering of unpleasant-smelling purple smoke, but she didn't mind it, because it meant he was _here_. She stacked the rest of her project papers and grabbed up dirty cups and bits of trash and clutter while he was gone, staying clear of the space he'd vacated. The unspoken rule between them was that he'd return in the same place. It prevented unfortunate reappearing-inside-people accidents.

“But _I_ will sleep on the couch,” he said when he returned, as if there had been no interruption in their conversation at all. He set a small bag beside the couch.

“You want something to drink? Or eat, are you hungry?” She carried a set of sheets and a blanket to the couch and went back for the extra pillow from her bed.

Kurt could not seem to take his eyes off her. He missed her so much more than he told her. Sometimes he wondered how she'd managed to work her way so deep into his heart, but he attributed it to the long time alone before Excalibur, and being the backbone of the team for so long afterwards.

“Water please will be fine. _Mein Gott_ , it _is_ hot in here.” He tugged at his sweater to move the air over his skin. “It was not like this last time. Why?”

“Last time you came the apartment below was vacant. It's a third floor apartment, Kurt. Heat rises.” She shrugged. “I can open a window if you want.”

“ _Danke_ ,” he said and opened his bag. He pulled out a t-shirt, and without modesty removed his sweater.

Kitty returned from the kitchen as he was pulling the t-shirt over his head and halted abruptly. She'd seen him nearly naked plenty of times, probably seen him shirtless almost every day, but his physique always stopped her. There was something about the lean, toned muscles and the liquid way he moved that made her breath catch and her heart race. When they were in Cloud Nine's underground facility, and Orpington-Smythe's people ran a series of tests on him, they'd stripped him to his skivvies and made him lift weights with probes attached all over. He hadn't minded, or did a good job of pretending he didn't. She, however, was young and shy, and turned to the computers instead. Sometimes she wished she hadn't.

Kitty blinked and stepped into the living room with a glass of water and a bag of chips she found on top of her fridge. Now that he was dressed again, she could almost concentrate. As a precaution, she set the water on the table before she could drop it.

 _Get a hold of yourself!_ _It's only Kurt!_

Kurt dug through his bag again and pulled out cotton sleep pants. _Oh god, don't, don't, don't_.

“This is the bathroom, _ja_?” he said, and she nodded mutely. While he was gone, she tried to pull herself together. What the hell was wrong with her? She took a drink of the water she'd brought him, feeling like a lovesick teenager.

  
  


Kurt could have easily talked to her over the phone. It didn't have to be in person. But he missed her and it was an almost reasonable excuse to visit. Maintaining a close friendship after Excalibur had not been easy, but they'd worked at it, and he still considered her one of his best friends. He hoped she did as well. He needed some advice.

He pulled his loose pajama pants on, relieved to be cooler already, and spent another moment splashing water on his face. Her apartment was stifling but it explained why she was dressed as she was, in practically nothing. A brief flash of her in her tank top and shorts made him pause for a deep breath before he returned to her living room, hoping he didn't betray his conflicting emotions.

He folded up his jeans and returned to the living room, where Kitty was putting her school things away. It was obvious she'd been working on something for a class, and he felt guilty for interrupting her.

“If you need to finish that, I can—”

“Nope,” she interrupted, jerking her head up. “No, it's not—it can wait. Are you kidding, I haven't seen you in _months_. Not since, well. You know. Besides, I'm almost done with it.”

“I was going to offer to help, but I suspect it would be over my head.”

“Don't sell yourself short, Kurt. You're smarter than people give you credit. But yeah. It probably would be.”

“I miss you,” he said, grinning from across the room at her unassuming analysis of his abilities.

Her face went fond, and she said, “I miss you, too.”

He hugged her, happy to have her in front of him, in his arms, real and not just a voice on the phone.

Kitty stepped back first, and put her hands on her hips. “You said you had a story. So let's hear it, huh?”

She opened the chips and sat with the bag in her lap so she faced him on the couch. She shoved the chips at him. “Have some. Want anything else?”

“ _Nein_ , no, this is fine.” He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering exactly how and where to start. Should he include the part with Ororo? Was it relevant? The couch shifted and he looked up to find she'd moved closer and was leaning into his space with upturned face.

“Hey, look, whatever it is, we're still a team. Remember?” Her hand covered his, rubbing over his knuckles with her thumbs.

He held her gaze, remembering again when it was only the two of them before Excalibur. Those weeks had been awful in so many ways, but there was a warmth to the memories, too. She was right. They were still a team, and he could count on her to listen. He took a chip from the bag.

“I told you I've been working with the XSE? Logan and I were called to a situation. The short version is, local law enforcement didn't want to cooperate, and by the time we got inside, Logan went for the boy and I teleported the rest of the kids to safety.”

“Back up a minute—a boy?”

“ _Ja_ , sorry. The boy was a mutant, out of control. His power was—it was so _strong_ , Kitty, and there were almost thirty other kids there.”

“So they were _all_ kids?”

She looked at him in rapt attention, eyes wide and distracting when he looked into them. She was too close, he could reach out and touch her bare shoulder...He was glad she was still holding his hands.

“ _Ja_ , it was a school,” he replied, swallowing the anxiety the memories brought. “The boy's power was out of control, almost like a...a nuclear bomb powering up.”

“Damn.”

“We lost too much time arguing with law enforcement. By the time we reached the boy... Logan tried to reason with him, tried to talk to him. It was no use. Wolverine, he had no _choice_...”

“Oh Kurt.” Her hands flew to her mouth, her voice barely a whisper. “Oh god, Logan killed him?”

Kurt nodded. Kitty's arms went around his neck and he was glad he'd come here. He needed this. Needed _her_. He held her tightly, arms around her slim waist as if he could pull her into him. He hadn't wanted to think about what happened much, but even after talking to Ororo it had burned inside his heart. Deaths like these always took a while for him to come to terms with. He'd never been comfortable with this part of his job, but talking to Kitty felt good, holding her and letting her carry the weight of it with him, like she did in Excalibur. Yes, he had done the right thing coming here. He admitted it—she fit into his life in a particular way and when they were apart too long, he began to feel off-balance.

She eased back, but her hands moved to his face, her fingers gentle and cool, and she waited for him to look into her eyes. How could she tell?

“That wasn't your fault.” Her voice was firm, but gentle.

“No, I _know_ —” He tried to nod, but she held him. He couldn't escape her eyes—they were looking into his soul, she would see everything, his faults and flaws and failures—and he could feel his heart pounding, but he wasn't afraid. He felt at peace. He wanted to her to know all those things, to take those raw, broken places and mend them.

“You always blame yourself. And I'm _telling_ you, that wasn't your fault.” He listened to her words, trying to take them to heart. Why did Kitty's voice make things true and right?

“I promise I understand.” He put his hands on hers. “Thank you.”

Kitty sank back onto the cushions, tossing the chip bag aside. She was right at his feet now, legs crossed in front of his, her knees pressed against his, as she waited for him to tell the rest of the story. She guessed this was why he'd come here today, now that he was telling the story. It was guilt he didn't know how to bear alone. He felt responsible, even though Logan had done the killing. He wrapped his fingers around her hands and laid them in his lap, not letting go.

“Afterwards, they tried to arrest us. Carol Danvers showed up and cleared us, but...you can imagine the backlash.”

“Boy, can I.”

“That evening, I was praying alone in my room and Ororo interrupted me. She came to do what you just did, to assure me that it was not my fault, and that the difficult decision Logan made saved all those other children.”

“I'm glad someone's keeping your guilt in line,” Kitty said, giving his hands a squeeze. She wouldn't be jealous of Ororo, of her being the one Kurt talked to. It had been Kitty's own choice to leave the team. If she didn't get to comfort him, she could hold only blame herself.

Kurt continued. “I appreciated her effort, but I prefer talking to you. We talked for a few minutes, Ororo and I, and then she asked me to _dance_. To waltz with her in the air. I don't know why, but I suspect she thought it would be a distraction. She had a new image inducer, solid light. Really amazing, like Cerise's power. She reminded me of a time she didn't know she was beautiful.” He looked at his hands, holding Kitty's, and he wished he could tell her that _she_ was beautiful.

“How is that even possible?” Kitty said, unaware of his thoughts about her. “She's the most beautiful woman I ever met.”

“She is very beautiful,” he conceded. “We danced, and it was magical—we were in the air, held aloft by her winds. It was fun, but odd. I don't know how to describe it. She seemed...flirtatious. As much as I enjoyed it, I couldn't help feeling it was only a distraction from what happened. I didn't want to pretend it didn't happen. But I couldn't turn her down either, so we danced until the next disaster struck.” He shifted a little as he talked, and it made her wonder if he was still upset about the child who was killed, or about dancing with Ororo. Or telling her about dancing with Ororo.

“Of course.” She shook her head slightly. That was always the way it went with the X-Men. “What'd you get, ten minutes?”

He flashed a wan smile before continuing, turning to stretch his legs out in front of him. He let go and adjusted himself so she could lean against his shoulder. “If that. Some kind of techno-organic creature invaded Sage and changed her. She attacked all of us. Logan, Ororo, myself, and...What?” She was giving him an odd, quizzical look, chewing her lip, her head tipped to one side in thought.

“You need a break,” she said.

“I know. That's partly why I'm here. I know you're busy, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go.”

She cocked her head at him. “Really? Out of the entire world, you couldn't think of anywhere to go on vacation except my ratty old apartment?

“In the entire world, this is where you are.”

He knew the face she made when she was figuring things out. She was making it now, and his heart pounded in his chest. She would hear it, feel it.

“Kitty,” he said, hoping his voice didn't waver too much, “I needed my friend.”

The word cut her heart, as it always did. No matter, he was here, and if he didn't love her, that was all right.

“Well, here I am,” she said. “I'm not in class all the time. We can hang out a little, and it's the weekend in another two days.”

He tipped his head back on the couch and closed his eyes.

Kitty leaned over and hugged him, and his arms went around her automatically, a familiar comfort washing over him as he sighed deeply.

“Yeah, you're not your usual annoyingly optimistic self.”

He had to agree with her. She sat up propping her arm on the side of his ribs.

“Do you remember how stressed out you got that year in Excalibur, when they took Douglock?”

How could he forget? It had been a terrible year in many ways. Brian missing, Moira sick with the Legacy Virus, Douglock stolen and taken apart, Kurt's own foster mother and ex-girlfriend involved in it, and Pete Wisdom holding Kitty's heart in his. Piotr nearly killing the man in jealousy. He'd been more than a little stressed.

“ _Ach_ , don't remind me.”

“You didn't listen to me then. You better this time.”

“I _did_ listen, Kitty. There wasn't anything I could do about it.” He frowned. He didn't tell her she was too busy with Pete to be available to him very often.

“There's always a choice. You were too stubborn to share your responsibilities or take even a weekend away. When was the last time you had a day off?”

He hedged his answer. “I take time off.”

“Oh? Like, when?” She fixed him with a skeptical glare he couldn't escape with her still leaning on him.

“In the Danger Room.”

“That doesn't count. It's just more training.”

“Not if it's in an exotic location.”

“Let me guess—Barsoom?” She sounded amused.

He chuckled. “How well you know me.”

“I was there. You loved that place. I think you would've stayed for the outfits alone.”

Another laugh. “You did not care for them, as I recall.”

“No, but I got used to them.” She sat up and reached for her water, settling back again beside him. He looked at her hand resting on his knee, then closed his over it.

“Too bad I don't get to play those scenarios with you anymore,” Kitty said. “I always did enjoy beating you at Pirates.”

“ _Ha_ , you never beat me. I'm far too good.” He laughed. “I've been teaching Rachel in your absence.”

Now that was a surprise. Rachel, in the Danger Room, playing pirates? “Really? I didn't think she'd go for that. Is she any good with a sword?” She tried to imagine Rachel dressing up like a pirate and swinging a sword, and couldn't.

“Actually, she _is_. We defeated a whole pirate crew...”

Kurt looked suddenly anxious again, maybe even embarrassed, if he ever admitted to that emotion. “What, did she cream your sorry blue butt, too?” Kitty tried to laugh, and he smiled, but didn't join in.

“I ran the Barsoom scenario for her. We were having so much fun, Rachel and I, and then...big finish, the battle was won, and I kissed her. It was a mistake, but she kissed me back. And I'm sure we would have kissed again if not for an interruption. Now I don't know where we stand.”

Kitty's good mood evaporated, but she kept the smile plastered on her face. It wasn't like he'd never dated anyone. They both had. But why Rachel?

“Nobody gets to make out in the X Mansion without being interrupted at least once,” Kitty said, trying to keep her composure. When it involved Rachel, as much as she loved her friend, Kitty always felt a welling up of irrational jealousy. She gave Kurt's hand a quick squeeze and got up to take her glass to the kitchen.

“Hang on,” she said as she refilled it, not hurrying. She needed something to do, a way to back up from things a little. It was strange, hearing him talk about kissing Rachel. He never seemed interested in her during Excalibur, nor she in him. Kitty and Rachel were friends, roommates during Excalibur, though Kitty considered her somewhat of a rival in the dating department. Everyone loved her. No one even noticed Kitty, except pre-pubescent alternate dimension versions of young Prince William. Kitty wasn't a child anymore and jealousy was useless. She shook herself mentally and went back to the couch.

She didn't sit quite so close. If he noticed, he said nothing.

“So who interrupted you?” Kitty said, to show she was listening and interested.

“Logan. And Ororo.”

“Ooooh....”

“She seemed fine. Mostly.”

“Yeah but _that's_ awkward. What're you gonna do now?”

“ _Ach_ , I don't know, I'm _confused_.” He put his head in his hands. “Logan wasn't much help when I spoke to him about it.”

He looked miserable. Kitty wished she could talk some sense into him, but he couldn't seem to stop kissing women without thinking first. She pushed her own feelings down as far as she could and tried to think about how he must be feeling.

“At least you didn't kiss Ororo. Wait, did you?”

“No. Not...no.”

So he'd kissed her some other time, Kitty guessed. “You have to be honest with both of them. How do you feel about them?”

“That's the trouble. I don't _know_ what I feel for them.”

“And that isn't something I can answer for you.”

“I know. I'm not asking you to.” He wanted to be honest with Kitty, and tell her the truth. She was the only one he was certain about, and it was probably the reason he was so unsure of the others. He didn't love them.

“I don't love them,” he said.

She sighed and patted his knee. “Dating is never easy, I guess,” Kitty said, thinking how true it was. “I thought I'd come here and have a normal life, but it didn't work out that way. I'm still a mutant.”

“I'm sorry it hasn't been what you hoped.”

“It was my choice to come out here.”

“It was not your choice to be a mutant.”

“No. But if I wasn't, I wouldn't know you, would I? And that makes it all worth it.” She smiled sweetly at him, and his heart constricted and he swallowed with some difficulty, his mouth having gone dry.

They talked well into the night until Kitty was yawning and forced herself to go to bed so she wouldn't miss her early class. Kurt lay on her couch, staring at her ceiling and listening to the sounds of her getting ready for bed. In the morning she was already gone, like last time, headed out to her first class. She'd left him another note by a coffee cup.

“Kurt, gone to class, done by 3. Make yourself at home. See you this afternoon. Love, Kitty.”

He read it again. Love, Kitty. He scratched his head. He rose slowly, taking his time and breathing easily for the first time in weeks, maybe months. He was in her kitchen making coffee when Logan called him.

“ _Verdammt_ ,” he muttered before answering. “ _Ja_ , Logan, what is it?”

“You gotta come back, Elf. We got problems. Big ones.”

“I'm on vacation.”

“I don't care. We need you, so cut it short and get out here pronto.”

He stared at the coffee he wasn't going to drink. “ _Ja_. Okay.”

He wrote Kitty a note in reply. “Dear Kätzchen, I am terribly sorry I cannot stay, though I wish I could. I must go with the team today. Savage Land mysteries require our investigation. I'll call when I get back. Love, Kurt.”

Kitty found the note when she got home that afternoon, not all that surprised, but still disappointed. She sat on the couch and passed her thumb over the words, “Love, Kurt.” She kept the note in her hand as she stared at the empty spaces where he'd been earlier.


	2. Another Surprise Visitor

In the middle of the Savage Land, locked in a room filling with ice, with Ororo a prisoner and Rachel slowly transforming into a mind-controlled Haukka dinosaur woman, Kurt wasn't so sure he'd be able to call Kitty back at all. He thought of her, sitting in her over-hot apartment, imagined her staring out the window at the snow and worrying. Then, the thought of her trapped outside, freezing, interrupted his mind, and a jolt of fear shot up his spine. He said a prayer that she would be safe.

  
  


Kitty was deep underground in one of the project rooms, debugging one of the devices that regulated the pressure in the system they were using to cool the generator. There weren't any windows, so she had no idea about the blizzard raging outside until one of the other students rushed in.

“Kitty, you seen this storm? Blew up outta nowhere!”

She got up, unconcerned, and took the stairs to the main level. The snow had already drifted against the glass doors so high she couldn't see out. Just down the hall, someone had rigged one of the building televisions to get the news. Storms covered the globe, coating the world in ice and snow, seemingly no end in sight. Forecasters predicted a new ice age and the death of nearly every species on the planet. Kitty felt her heart sinking to her stomach. She only knew one person who could cause weather like this, and that was Ororo. But why, unless she was under some duress?

Kitty was stuck here, helpless and out of communication with the X-Men. She knew they'd have more information, but she couldn't contact them right now. She could only hope and pray they were safe. She settled down to watch the non-stop weather coverage with a growing group of college students who were looking for the same answers she was. They took comfort in the presence of one another, talking and wondering and speculating. Kitty, for the most part, stayed quiet, afraid she'd give away her meager insider knowledge and wind up with angry students attacking her.

It occurred to her that Kurt was probably wrapped up in this mess somehow, though she wondered how it could be connected to the Savage Land. Was he safe?

The storm stopped as abruptly as it began. When enough snow melted that they could shove open the doors of the building, the students rushed outside, tossing snowballs and throwing the powdery stuff into the air. Now that the crisis was over, they needed to let loose. Not Kitty, not yet. She wouldn't relax until she heard from Kurt and knew everyone was safe. She gathered up her things and headed home through the snow.

She'd lost Doug Ramsey years ago, Illyana later to the Legacy Virus, and Piotr to its cure. Some of her best friends. She was terrified of losing Kurt, too. The thought made her sick to her stomach, made tears well up in her eyes, and her heart beat wildly if she lingered on the possibility too long. Trying to trudge through knee-deep snow with tears pricking at her eyes wasn't easy. She willed herself to be stronger, and not to give up.

At her apartment, she turned on the news, which now reported the mysterious melting of snow around the world. Scientists were baffled. Kitty waited with her phone and her old X-Men comlink nearby. While she tidied up the place, she discovered Kurt's discarded sweater between the sofa and the end table. She balled it up and held it in her lap while she watched the news.

Why didn't he call?

She fell asleep on the couch and woke to the jingle of her cell phone sometime in the night. She bolted upright and grabbed for it.

“ _Kätzchen_ ,” he said, and she almost sobbed with relief.

“Oh thank God, Kurt, you're all right.”

“ _Ja_ , I am, I'm fine. Are you? Were you safe?”

“I was stuck in one of the academic buildings but I'm okay. What the hell happened?”

She thought she heard an exhale of breath on the other end. Kurt related the story of Rachel's mind-control and Storm's capture, and Kitty listened, open-mouthed and incredulous.

“I wanted to call you earlier, but I wasn't able to,” he said. “I'm sorry, I know you worried.”

“It's okay, I understand,” she said. “Are you home now?”

“ _Ja_ , with my feet in a warm tub.”

“Is everyone else okay?”

“ _Ja_ , _ja_ , everyone...everyone is all right.”

“You don't sound so sure. Who's hurt?” Her heart rate was all over the place. She wished they weren't separated by so many miles. Seeing him, being able to touch him, would surely ease her anxiety. Her imagination started running away, dreaming up broken bones and broken bodies.

“No one, I promise. When is your Spring Break?”

“It was three weeks ago.”

“ _Verdammt_. Well.” She could hear him humming to himself in thought.

“What is it? Kurt, you're scaring me.” She was standing up now, holding the phone out as if she could throttle him through it if he didn't tell her.

“I'm sorry, please, don't be worried. Everything is fine. Could I...could I come out and see you again?”

Kitty went to the door and threw it open. The hallway was dim and empty. “Where are you?”

He laughed. “I'm still in New York, _schatz_. I'm actually calling ahead.”

“You can come visit anytime, okay?”

“Tomorrow is not too soon?”

“No, not at all. I'll make up the couch for you.”

“That will be fine. Kätzchen?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don't worry. Nothing is wrong. It's something...I want to see your face. That's all.”

She frowned. “Okay...” She couldn't think of any reason he'd want to see her face when he told her something. Unless maybe...but no, that couldn't be it. Could it? “See you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

  
  


Kurt decided telling her about Piotr's resurrection should be done in person. After the way she reacted when she thought she saw him alive in the city, he wanted to be with her when he told her. It felt important.

Piotr joined him at the table to eat. They were all hungry after the day's ordeal.

“Why do you look so unhappy, _tovarisch_?”

Kurt looked up and smiled politely. “ _Hallo_ , Piotr. I'm not unhappy. I'm thinking.”

Piotr took a seat and reached for the bowl of noodles at the far end. He served himself before asking, “About what?”

Kurt set his fork down. “Kätzchen. She doesn't know about you and Betsy.”

“I will call her.”

“No—I'm going to see her tomorrow. It seems the kind of thing to do in person. She was very upset a few months ago...she thought she saw you. It was very hard on her.”

“I will join you then. I would like to see her very much.” The look on Piotr's face confirmed Kurt's suspicions that he hoped to reunite with Kitty on a very personal level.

“Of course. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you.” He shouldn't be disappointed that Piotr wanted to come along. It made perfect sense for Piotr to be there, and in fact, made the surprise even better.

  
  


They discussed the best way to break the news to her as Kurt flew the Blackbird towards Chicago. Having his own jet certainly had its perks, he thought, imagining the team wouldn't have been too thrilled with him for taking their primary means of transportation so many times recently for personal business.

“I will wait in the hall while you go inside,” Piotr reiterated. Kurt nodded. He'd have to talk to her quickly. Piotr wouldn't be willing to wait long. He knew she was worrying, though, even after begging her not to, and he wanted to reassure her before Piotr showed up.

His heart beat madly as he knocked on her door, Piotr waiting in the shadows. Kitty opened the door, and pulled him inside. “What is it?” she demanded.

He touched her shoulder. “Relax, Kätzchen. Come sit a moment.” She wasn't in any mood to be patient or give him time to explain.

“No. I know you said don't worry, but I barely slept. Are you all right? Did something happen to Ororo or Logan?”

He put his hands on her arms. “No, _schatz_ , this is a good thing.”

She stared at him, her eyes on his. He touched her hair, and Kitty wondered again if he had come to tell her he loved her. She almost laughed at herself for that thought, reminding herself harshly that he did _not_ , but her heart beat madly anyway. Then over his shoulder, she saw movement, and he turned, giving her an unobstructed view of Piotr standing in her doorway.

Kurt felt her shaking beneath the hand still on her shoulder.

“Kurt? What the hell is this? Some kind of sick joke?” She didn't take her eyes off Piotr, who was now smiling and extending his arms to her.

“ _Nein_. It is Piotr.”

Her hand went to her mouth and she inhaled a sobbing sound. She tore away from Kurt and hurled herself into Piotr's arms, crying and laughing. Kurt watched their reunion, feeling alone and a bit like a voyeur. He kicked at his overnight bag, tucking it beside her couch, where he imagined he wouldn't be sleeping. Or maybe he would. Her bed was big enough for two. He went to her kitchen as if he had the right to make himself at home here, and dug in her fridge for beer. In the back, he found two Dinkelacker. Why did she have those?

He opened one and took a long sip. From the other room came sounds of laughter and tears, and Kitty's voice, nervous and high-pitched as she put the story together bit by bit, interrupting Piotr after every other sentence. Jealousy spiked in Kurt's chest, and he poked at the feeling. He hated it, a useless feeling that more often than not caused poor judgment and hurt feelings. Piotr's return didn't change anything between himself and Kitty. She was still his best friend. He looked at her and Piotr again, both smiling, Kitty almost giddy, and jealousy shot through him again. He took another drink of the beer and went to her living room window to stare down at the street. A woman passed under a streetlight, and Kurt swore she looked up at the window, directly at him. But she moved on, and he forgot about her when Piotr laughed loudly.

Kurt wandered over to Kitty's couch with his beer and waited. She and Piotr were still in the doorway. She had her hand on his arm, smiling up at him, and rocking back and forth from one foot to the other. The main door opened downstairs, and Kitty seemed to remember they were still in the open doorway of her apartment. She pulled Piotr inside and shut the door.

She sat down on the couch with Piotr, but she couldn't settle, half on her knees and half off the couch. She got up again for drinks and food. When she came back, she saw the beer in Kurt's hand.

“Oh good, you found it! I got those for you from this import place down the street.” He was about to reply, thank her politely, when she fell onto his lap, arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, you sweet, sweet elf.”

He patted her back hesitantly, overwhelmed with the desire to keep her there. “You're welcome. I'm sorry I made you anxious. I thought it best to tell you in person, and Piotr asked to come along.”

She peeled herself away from him, and sat between them. Her hip brushed his as she turned her back to Kurt to talk to Piotr. He was forgotten again as she grabbed Piotr's hands and gushed over him.

By dinnertime, Kurt's patience had worn thin, but Kitty's enthusiasm had not waned. He should have sent Piotr alone. He wouldn't have to endure this then. Two beers wasn't going to be nearly enough. Kitty ordered in Chinese for all of them, and they ate it on the floor of her living room.

Kurt decided he needed some fresh air. “I'll be back in a few minutes,” he said, and Kitty waved as he left, still glued to Piotr's every word. Kurt turned on his image inducer as he went out, double checking that her door was locked. Protectiveness, he told himself. A habit formed from long years of watching over her when she was younger. He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and shoved the outer door open with his shoulder. It shut with a slam as he walked into the parking lot.

It was full of cars, a few people going to and from their buildings, and farther out on the street were more people walking briskly along the sidewalk. There was a 24-hour store across the corner, and the lot was busier there. Kurt decided to walk the perimeter of her apartment complex. It wouldn't hurt to make sure it was safe, he figured, and it would give him a chance to clear his head and get away from the blabfest inside. Why had he thought it was a good idea to come along for this?

It was hard enough going about every day of his life as if he wasn't madly in love with her, but watching her gush over another man, even one he considered his friend, was torture. She'd always loved Piotr, from the first time she saw him. She'd told him once, about that day, how she'd noticed him immediately and pursued him tirelessly until he finally gave in. Kurt, on the other hand, had terrified her at first sight. He reminded himself to be grateful he no longer inspired such a reaction in her.

  
  


Inside, Kitty and Piotr talked, and as it grew later, she began to wonder if Kurt was going to come back. “He's been gone a long time, right?” she asked Piotr.

He shrugged. “I did not notice the time,” he said. “He will come back when he is ready. He has not been himself lately.”

“I noticed. That's why I'm worried.” She went to the windows one by one and looked out, but didn't see him. When a knock came at the door, she was relieved and opened it quickly.

It wasn't Kurt. It wasn't even Kurt with an image inducer. It was Michael, a member of the Purity group on campus that had caused problems for Kitty earlier in the year. He was grinning at her like a monster. “So, you _do_ live here after all.”

“Go away, Michael,” she said, shutting the door. He shoved his foot in the jamb and pushed it open. Kitty made a fist.

“You gonna fight me? Go ahead. I'll report you and you'll be _gone_. Like all muties should be.”

Kitty heard Piotr move, and Michael's eyes shifted from her face to his as he came up behind her. “What do you want, _small man_?” Piotr said.

“Uh, nothing. I'm leaving.” He spared another scowl for Kitty. “We know where you live now. You better watch out.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No,” Michael said with a nasty grin. “Warning you.”

Kitty started to yell something back, but bit her tongue and turned back into the apartment instead, growling and clenching her arms against her sides. “Assholes,” she muttered. “Assholes.”

Piotr shut the door, asking her who the boy was.

“His name is Michael something. He belongs to this group of jerks that call themselves Purity.” Piotr's blank face made her continue. “It's a group on campus that thinks they're going to single-handedly bring about the fall of mutantkind. They hate me and want to get me kicked out.”

There was another knock at the door, and Kitty beat Piotr to it, flinging it open wide, ready with a fist raised. Kurt jumped back, hands raised.

“Oh, damn, sorry, Kurt. I thought it was Michael again.” She left the door standing wide open and went to the couch.

Kurt gave Piotr a quizzical look, but he only shrugged. “She said he wants to kick her.”

Kitty sighed. “No, he's in that Purity group. Kurt, you remember?”

“ _Ja_ , the ones who want to make you leave.”

“Exactly!” She threw her hands up.

“One of them came here?”

“Yeah, all threatening and shit. How'd they find out where I live?” She put her head in her hands and looked at Kurt, hanging his jacket on the rack by her door. “What am I gonna do about them?” she said.

Piotr sat down beside her and put his big arms around her. “There, there, little Katya. I will keep you safe.”

“Uh, thanks Piotr. I appreciate that.” She patted his arm.

Kurt stayed where he was. “I walked your apartment complex, and I didn't notice anything unusual. We could install some extra security while we're here, if you like.”

“Maybe. A camera at the door might be nice.” She chewed her lip, eyes on Kurt, though Piotr was trying his best to comfort her.

It got later, and conversation resumed, returning to more mundane things, though Kurt positioned himself so he could see the door and get to it quickly if need be. The fire escape was at her living room window, so he sat in a chair near it. Piotr stayed on the couch with Kitty, reminiscing and talking to her.

  
  


She finally declared it was past her bedtime. “I don't know how I'm gonna fit both of you in here to sleep.”

“I'll get a hotel, Kätzchen.”

“I told you last time, the rates are insane. I'll sleep on the couch. You guys take the bed.”

“No,” they both said.

She cocked her head at them. “Are you serious? It's a double bed, there's room for two in it.”

“I'll sleep on the floor out here,” Kurt said. “Piotr takes up an entire double bed. I want to keep an eye on things out here.”

She threw up her hands. “I really don't care. I'm sleeping on the couch. You two work it out yourselves.” She went to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. Kurt refused the bed and planted himself on the floor in front of the fire escape, just beyond the couch. Piotr had the bed by default.

In the dark Kitty shifted back and forth on the couch while Kurt stared at the ceiling, listening for sounds of intruders or suspicious activity. He was definitely not listening to _her_.

“Kurt?” she whispered.

“ _Ja_?”

“Are you all right?”

“Sure, why?”

“You seemed kind of...I dunno... _sad_.” Her face appeared over the arm of the couch, peering over at him.

“I'm fine. I'm happy for you.”

“Aren't _you_ happy? He was one of your best friends before.”

“Of course. It's wonderful to have him back.” He knew she couldn't see his face clearly in the dark, and he had the advantage over her on that.

“Are you jealous?”

“Of course not,” he lied.

She surprised him by padding across the floor to lie down beside him. She patted his shoulder and rested her head against it.

“You're my best friend. Piotr being back won't change that.” She flung her arm around his chest.

“You are mine as well.” He kissed her head and refused to say anything else about it. He closed his eyes and relaxed at last.

  
  


She was gone when he woke up, not far, but no longer in his arms. The fleeting comfort it had brought was soured almost immediately when he saw her with Piotr making pancakes, whispering together. He rubbed his head and went into the bathroom before either of them could speak to him. Not that they noticed.

He returned to three plates of pancakes set out, with syrup and jelly and butter, and he smiled and thanked her. She sat beside Piotr.

“I have class at noon today,” she said, “And work after.”

“We must get back,” Piotr said. “We have important work to do.”

“Oh. That's too bad,” she said, and Kurt could see she was disappointed. “I guess til next time then.”

Kurt wasn't sure they should go back at all. If the Purity campus group was harassing her, maybe they should stick around. “I don't know,” he said. Piotr glared at him.

“What do you mean? We _must_ return. Kitty should come home with us, too.”

“Oh, I can't, Piotr. Sorry.” She took a bite, tongue flicking out to catch a drip of syrup from her lower lip. Kurt looked away.

“You do not need school, you need to be with us. You have a job already. And you will not need to worry about those bad people anymore.” Piotr's hand was a fist. Kurt tensed up, ready to intervene if Piotr lost his temper.

Kitty's face remained calm, not allowing Piotr to get to her. “No, I'm finishing school first. You and Kurt go back.” Her eyes rested on Kurt's face again, silently communicating her annoyance before turning back to her meal. He couldn't help the crack of a smile it caused.

The rest of breakfast was silent. Kurt didn't want to leave her, especially after the previous night's incident. He knew Kitty could take care of herself, but even the toughest of his friends sometimes needed backup. He shoved his clothes into his bag and wondered if he was just fishing for a reason to stay.

After a round of hugs and good-byes, Kitty pulled him aside.

“Are you sure you're okay?” she said. She leaned into his shoulder, the palm of her hand resting on the flat of his chest the way she often did, the way that made his heart beat faster. He curled his tail around her waist and kissed her head.

“ _Ja_ , I'm sure. I admit I'm a little worried about you, dealing with these people. I don't like that they know where you live.”

“I'll be all right. They're just trying to intimidate me.”

“I know you're capable, I'm not questioning—”

“I know,” she said, patting his chest.

“I hope you're right about them.”

“What about things with 'Ro and Rachel? Did you have time to work any of that out?” She dropped her hand to hook around his waist, catching him in a hug. She kept her voice low enough Piotr couldn't quite hear from his spot by the door where he stood with folded arms, impatient.

“Not yet, _schatz_.”

He soaked up the warmth of her, holding him, and he wished he could stay here, just like this.

Kitty tilted her head up. “I wish we could have talked about that some more. I know it's on your mind. And I'm sorry you got left out. I didn't mean to.”

“It's all right, Kätzchen, _I_ wasn't dead.”

“Don't make me think about _that_.” She squeezed him.

“Sorry,” he said, stroking her hair. “Be safe until we see you again, _ja_? I do not trust that Purity group.”

“Yeah, me either. You be safe, too.” She arched her back to look up at him, and he wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her. She gave him another quick squeeze and ushered him out the door. “I'm gonna be late.”

He wanted to kiss her. His imagination spun, playing out the scenario. Touching her lips with his, hearing her gasp of surprise as it changed into one of pleasure. Wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. She wasn't in love with him, she was his best friend. And he'd never loved anyone more.

Piotr's hand clapped his shoulder. “Cheer up, _tovarisch_. We are going home again now.”

“ _Ja_ , we are.”


	3. Trouble Brewing

Every time Kitty's friends left, her apartment felt bigger, emptier, and utterly silent. She turned up the radio, dressed quickly and grabbed her bag for a day of classes. She hoped class would be interesting and hold her attention. She remembered at the last minute to grab her project papers so she could work there between classes.

Purity had gathered on campus outside her first class building with yet another protest. Someone had a table set up with a sign that said, “Mutants: exterminate or cure? Convince me.” Others had cardboard signs raised, chanting and pointing at her and a few other students who had been outed as mutants. Kitty pushed her way through the crowd, not using her power, keeping her eyes on the door of her building. She thought about Logan's training, Kurt's advice over the years, even Piotr's incessant rambling about farm life, anything to drown out their catcalls. She couldn't get into another fight. Inside the building, she leaned against the wall, taking a moment to breathe before heading up the stairs to her class.

She saw the text when Kurt and Piotr landed in New York. She wanted to reply but the professor was asking questions and she had to listen. He had a habit of picking the students who weren't paying attention.

By the end of the day, she was sick of avoiding the protesting groups and her patience was shot. They seemed to be in front of all her academic buildings, and the cafeteria where she liked to have lunch. She thought they might be intentionally targeting her. Alice, one of their leaders, had a particular hatred for her that had only increased after the disaster with Kitty's old project that nearly killed a bunch of students. Alice blamed Kitty for all of it, and Kitty wondered if the hateful woman wasn't also involved somehow with the strange sentinels she and Karma had fought earlier in the semester.

  
  


By evening, Kitty was sure she was being followed. In fact, the person following her was shouting at her, and telling her she was following her, so it was a dead giveaway. Kitty was doing her best to keep her cool. Getting into another fight would be the end of college.

The woman following her was one of Alice's cronies in Purity. She had a sign and kept yelling at Kitty that muties should go home, muties shouldn't be allowed on campus, muties should be euthanized. Kitty imagined how good it would feel to punch that woman's mouth shut. But she kept her eyes straight ahead and pulled out her phone.

She called Kurt. The line rang and rang, and finally went to voicemail. She listened to his outgoing message, some silly thing he'd put on there for his own amusement, in German no less. He found it hilarious when people left obviously flustered messages afterwards. Kitty tuned out the screaming woman behind her and let the sound of Kurt's voice fill her head for three seconds.

“Hey it's me,” she said to the recording. “I didn't call for any reason, I...I'm just walking home and I thought I'd say hi. Hope everything's okay. … Bye.” She hung up, wishing she had something else to say. She wished he had answered. She shoved the phone back in her pocket and tried to think of song lyrics to drown out the woman's voice behind her.

Finally someone else went up to the woman and stopped her, and Kitty gratefully hurried home, only to find Michael waiting at her apartment. He was leaning on the wall near the main door, watching her. She almost hoped he'd do something so she'd have an excuse to punch him, but he just stood there. Kitty went up to her apartment, changed for work, and went out the back way, floating down and hoping no one saw her. Kurt called back while she was working, and she couldn't answer. She called him back when she got off work, but it was late and went directly to his voicemail again.

  
  


Kurt noticed the blinking notification on his phone the next day, after a training session with Logan, Ororo, and Rachel. Another missed call from Kitty. Something must be going on. His gut twisted with worry, remembering the man who'd knocked on her door when he and Piotr were there. No, when Piotr was there and Kurt was out. He cursed himself for not being there. He had his phone in his hand, preparing to call when he noticed Rachel lingering after the rest of the team had left.

Unless he wanted to be a first-class jerk and teleport away, he had to talk to her. He and Kitty hadn't talked about what he could say to her, and he knew it was because there was no excuse for his behavior. If he didn't care for her, why had he kissed her? He pocketed his phone and walked down the bleacher steps to her.

“Hey, Fuzzy,” she said. “You wanna grab lunch?”

He took a deep breath and smiled at her, gripping his gym bag. “Thank you for the invitation, but I must decline,” he said as kindly as he could. “Rachel, there's no easy way to tell you that I was wrong to kiss you. It was a mistake, and it was thoughtless, and I am sorry,” he said, in one rush of breath. He prayed she didn't torch him with the Phoenix force.

Her friendly smile disappeared. Finally she huffed out a sigh and said, “I shouldn't be surprised. But I'm still disappointed.”

“I'm sorry,” he said again. “I didn't mean to—”

“You never do,” she snapped. “I don't know why I thought I'd be different.” She turned on her heel and stalked off. She'd let him off easy. He wasn't a ball of flames.

He teleported to his room and started the water for a shower, then turned it off. No, he'd call Kitty first. Something wasn't right.

She answered almost immediately. “Thank god,” she said, and her voice sounded tremulous and tight, like she was trying not to cry.

“Kätzchen, what's going on?”

“I'm...so _fucking pissed off_!” she said, and he realized she _was_ crying, in anger. Her words were separated by heaving breaths as she struggled to get control in the midst of whatever was going on. Every fiber in Kurt's body told him to run to her, save her, protect her, but he was miles and hours away.

“All day long yesterday these people hounded me and now they're at it again. Kurt, I swear...”

She didn't need him to fight for her right now, she needed him to be calm and reasonable and get her through without a fight. “Tell me what you're doing right now.”

“Trying to walk to my damn class! They're all outside the building again, like yesterday. They're picking the buildings where I have class. I think they're targeting _me_!” Her voice rose with every sentence.

“What class are you going to?” he asked, keeping his own voice very calm, as he twisted his dirty shirt in his fists.

“One of my programming classes. Shit, get off me, you asshole,” she said, obviously to someone in the crowd. “Shoving their damn signs in my face,” she said to Kurt. In the background he could make out the sounds of a crowd, but nothing they said. Technology was too good at filtering out the background noises sometimes.

“I'm so proud of you,” he said.

“What?”

“You are out in the world, facing what regular mutants face every day, only they don't have a job with the X-Men to fall back on. You _could_ quit, just as Piotr suggested. You could walk out of that school right now and come back here, and you would be all right. You'd be with the rest of us, safe and surrounded by accepting people. But you aren't giving up. Instead you are in the thick of the real fight. And I'm so proud of you.”

Kitty was silent. She hadn't thought of it that way.

“Are you still there?” Kurt said.

“Yeah, I'm here. Thanks, Kurt. For saying that.”

“It's true.”

“I _know_ —I know you mean it. I'm in the building now, and class is in like five seconds. I'm glad you called.”

“I'm sorry I've missed your calls recently. It was unintentional.”

“It's okay. I'll call later. After class, if I can.”

“Good-bye, Kätzchen.”

“Hey, Kurt—” she said, but he'd already hung up. _I love you._

Kurt stepped into the shower, thinking about Kitty, about how these people had found her home, followed her, harassed her on campus. There had to be a solution to make things easier. If nothing else, he wanted her to be safe at night. He shouldn't have left her alone. He should go back.

While he toweled dry, he wondered how long her class was. He wanted her to call him when she was done. Maybe if she talked to him when she had to pass the crowds, it would help. He texted her and hoped it wouldn't interrupt her class.

He wanted to go back out there, and stay with her, but she still had over a year of school to go, plus the summer. He couldn't leave the X-Men for that long, especially not to sit around in her apartment like a glorified watchdog. No, he had to come up with something that could work when he wasn't there. They had to shut down the Purity group. Maybe, if they did that, it would take long enough to regroup that she could get done with school. Or maybe if they were classified as a hate group, they'd be banned from campus. He wasn't familiar with those laws, but he figured it was an idea to run past Kitty.

She called him after her class. He could almost make out shouting as she walked through the crowd again, not talking to him. He imagined her face, set like stone, eyes shooting daggers at the people carrying signs and getting in her face. He talked to her about his day, nothing important, just words for her to focus on instead of what was going on around her.

When she started talking, he knew she was clear of them, and relaxed. He hadn't realized how tense he'd become. Imagine how she must feel. He ran a hand through his hair and stared at his phone. He hated feeling helpless.

  
  


“It's worse every day,” she lamented at the end of the week. “There are more and more people at the protests, they follow us around campus, too, not just me, but anyone they think might be a mutant or a mutant supporter. I've shut down their website a hundred times, but it's always up and running again the next day.”

Kitty was home, curled in the corner of her couch with the TV on low. She'd installed a video camera at her front door and above the fire escape, but it was small comfort. If she looked out the window, there was almost always at least one person from Purity in her parking lot, or walking through. They hung signs up in her parking lot every night, and every morning she pulled them down. They were always back when she got home at night.

People knocked on her door, but she could see them now, so she didn't answer. She was rather proud of her camera. It was tiny, and mounted inside the light at her door. It was so tiny, no one had noticed it yet.

After two weeks, Kurt had her schedule memorized, and usually if she didn't call him, he called her. He called her in the evening before she went to work at the bar, and she always texted him when she got home. When his phone rang or a text message alert sounded, his heart skipped a beat, hoping it was her. He had to restrain himself from calling her before she had a chance to get out of class or home from work.

It was the most they'd communicated since she left for college, and it highlighted how much he missed her. Going for days or weeks without hearing from her, for some reason, made him think about the other things going on around him. Knowing she'd call or text him every day had him eyeing the phone when he wasn't working, and checking often for any missed messages.

Friday night, three weeks until the end of the school year, he was watching television while he waited for her text after work. He thought it was an unusual job for her to choose, but she seemed to like it, and Dylan, who owned the bar, was a good guy. He kept an eye on things and Purity seemed to stay away.

Kurt clicked through the channels, hoping to come across some good old black and white movie, or a version of Robin Hood he hadn't seen in a while. He kept the phone beside him, waiting for her text. It got later, but he told himself she was just running behind. Sometimes that happened. After another half an hour, he texted her. No reply. He called, but it went to her voicemail. He sent another text, in case she was just in the bathroom or something.

She was probably asleep and had forgotten to text him. She was probably fine. It was probably nothing. Maybe she'd worked a later shift tonight, to pull in some extra money. He concocted a hundred reasons she hadn't contacted him yet, but the more time passed, the more worried he became. He regretted not having the number to any of her friends or Dylan, but then he realized he could call the bar.

At first they wouldn't tell him anything. He explained who he was and why he was calling, explained how he knew Kitty, and finally asked to speak to Dylan.

“Are you Dylan, the owner?” he said.

“Yeah, are you the douchebag who wants to harass my employee and follow her home?”

“No! I'm her friend, I'm in New York, and she hasn't called to let me know she's home, and I'm concerned.”

There was a pause. “I'll check on her.”

“ _Danke_. Thank you. Here is my number, if anything is wrong—I'm an X-Man. I'll—”

“Got it man.” He hung up.

Kurt texted Kitty again, and called again, but no answer. When his phone dinged a message alert, he almost dropped it in his haste to see if it was her. It wasn't. It was Dylan.

>>No answer when I called.

>>Me either. That's why I called you.

>>I'm on my way to her place.

>>Thank you so much.

There was nothing else he could do.


	4. Just Move In Already, Geez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some kind of silly conversations in this chapter.

When Kitty's shift at the bar ended, she left through the back as she'd been doing lately, hoping to avoid being spotted by the jerks who seemed to show up coincidentally wherever she was. Unfortunately, they weren't entirely stupid, and figured out pretty quickly what she was doing. So she found herself in a back alley with a dozen Purity zealots waving what she first thought were tiny signs. On closer inspection, they weren't signs. They were some kind of weapon.

Something flashed, a light or a laser, and she fell back in surprise. They came at her, and she tried phasing through the ground but she couldn't. She rolled away, kicking out the feet of the person closest. The light flashed again, and she reeled. As soon as she could phase, she ran through them, grabbing for the weapon closest to her. Every time the weapons flashed, they left her stunned, unable to phase for the moment, and vulnerable. Only Ogun's brainwashing and Logan's training kept her on her feet. They had made her an excellent fighter, and she drew on those instincts and tried to focus past the flashing lights—or whatever they were.

They took advantage of her when she was down, throwing punches and kicking, but she got in her own share of attacks. She took out one of the leaders, knocking him unconscious, and she was pretty sure she broke another's leg. She was still outnumbered, and with their mystery weapons flashing every few seconds, she realized she was in trouble. Time to stop fighting and get the hell outta there. She feigned a punch, then ran, skidding around a corner straight into another, smaller, group of Purity members. Several fell when she ran into them, and they fumbled for their weapons, grabbing them too late. Kitty had bolted down the street already.

Running through back alleys and dark streets gave her a momentary flashback to being thirteen and doing something very similar. This time, the X-Men weren't coming to save her. She ducked down a particularly damp alley to catch her breath. What were those weapons? How did they work, and where had they gotten them? That wasn't the kind of thing you popped into the local store to buy. She poked her head around the corner, and when she didn't see anyone suspicious, she headed home via side streets. In the parking lot of her apartment were more of them. She could see a few of the strange weapons, too. She chewed her lip, trying to come up with a plan.

Should she even go home? All her school things were there, and where else would she go? She didn't dare go to her mother's and risk her safety. A hotel? She didn't have money with her. She'd have to go home or spend the night on the street.

Something flashed behind her, and she went down hard, elbows and knees slamming into the rough pavement. She recovered as fast as she could, kicking back with one leg to knock her attacker off balance, sending him to the ground. The rest of the group noticed the fight, and come to gather around, hoisting their flashing weapons high. Kitty and the one man fought, the bright lights flashing now and then to give him an edge over her. Finally, he had her pinned to the ground, his boot at her neck. At the first chance, she phased, and his boot went through her.

“You flash those things and I'll go solid and you'll lose your foot.”

“But _you'll_ die,” he replied. She was sure he was sneering under his mask.

“No I won't,” she said, rolling and grabbing his foot, phasing him his foot into the ground. “Tell your friends to back off and leave me alone.”

He hesitated, then nodded at them. When Kitty was satisfied, she lifted his foot up and released him. He joined them on the edge of the parking lot as sirens blared in the distance. The group dispersed, and Kitty stumbled up to her building. She pulled out her phone to call someone, but it had been smashed in the fight.

  
  


Kurt watched the minutes tick by, waiting for news from Dylan or Kitty. Finally, he couldn't stand it. There was only one thing he could do, and that was go find her himself. If it meant yet another trip to Chicago, if it meant using his last stash of jet fuel for another six months, so be it. None of that mattered. He shoved clothes into a bag and teleported to the hangar. Once in the air, he left a message for Scott and Logan both. He didn't care if he was being irrational. As an X-Man, there was always something going wrong, and he wasn't going to sit around waiting for some bar owner to text him back and say Kitty wasn't at home either, and he didn't know where she was.

The flight from New York to Chicago in the Blackbird was laughably short. He parked in his usual abandoned lot, left his 'bird in stealth, and went straight to Kitty's apartment. She wasn't home, and the parking lot was empty. In fact, it was darker than it should be. He glanced up and saw the lights had been shot out. Fear settled in his gut as he made the few quick teleports to the Belles of Hell. Neither Kitty nor Dylan were there, and no one in the bar would tell him anything.

Outside, he pulled up his mini-cerebro and tapped in Kitty's information. She was nowhere near her apartment or the bar. And she was moving. He headed towards her, closing in as she moved in his direction. Suddenly something flashed beside him, the cerebro went out, and he was momentarily blinded. His instinct was to teleport, but for several horrific seconds, he couldn't. At last it worked, and he dropped to his knees on the roof of a building. When his vision cleared, he looked down, in time to see someone with what looked like a small sign running down the street.

From the roofs, Kurt followed. This had to be someone from Purity, and if they were out in Kitty's neighborhood, they might be the reason she wasn't answering.

  
  


Kitty trudged up the steps to her apartment.

“Kitty, thank god,” said a voice from outside her door.

“Dylan what the hell?” she said, losing her footing on the stairs in surprise. She scolded herself. Careless. Sloppy. Logan would shake his head and make her practice again.

“Hey, you look like shit,” Dylan said. “What happened?”

“Bullies. What are you doing here?”

“Some guy called and asked me to check up on you. I guess he wasn't lying about being a friend of yours.”

“Oh, god, probably Kurt. I've been checking in with him in the evenings because of these guys on campus. The ones I told you about?”

“Yeah. So...are you okay then?”

“A little sore, but no big deal. I'll be fine. Thanks Dylan. And yeah, if a German guy calls for me, he's cool. Actually, can you text him for me? My phone got destroyed and he's probably stalking the halls wondering why I haven't called him.”

“Yeah, no problem. You be careful, kid.” When he clapped her shoulder, she winced, but smiled at Dylan anyway.

“Thanks. I will. 'Night, Dylan.”

She didn't even bother unlocking the door, phasing through and stripping off her ruined outfit as she went. Shower. And bath. Yes, both, she thought, both would be perfect. And wine. She didn't have wine. She might have a good beer in there, though. She was definitely taking tomorrow off, too. Oh, and Kurt. She wished she could text him. He'd be going nuts by now. She hoped Dylan wouldn't forget to send her message.

While the water got hot, she crossed to the kitchen to dig in the refrigerator for a drink. No good German stuff, Kurt had already drunk all of that when he was here last. Hell, she didn't even have a cheap beer. Well, never mind. She was still going to have a bath.

First a shower, to clean off all the dirt and grime. She scrubbed at her knees and elbows carefully, digging out tiny pebbles that had lodged there, and wincing. Then she filled the tub and sank into it up to her neck. She was finally relaxing somewhat when she heard a sound from the living room.

Oh _hell_ no, she thought. She climbed out of the tub, grabbing a towel from the rack to wrap around herself. Then, taking a deep breath, she flung open the bathroom door and prepared to kick the shit out of whoever was in her apartment.

Kurt spun around, tripped over her discarded jacket, and almost fell. Kitty stood with her mouth open, clutching the towel to her chest.

“What are you doing here?” she said as he righted himself.

“You didn't answer, I called, and Dylan from the bar didn't know where you were, either.”

He crossed the room and pulled her to him, relief making him tremble. He kissed her wet hair again and again. “ _Danke Gott_ you are all right,” he said at last.

“Yeah, I'm okay,” she said. “But, uh, can I at least go get dressed now?”

He released her, apologizing. “Yes, yes of course, I'm sorry. I'm so relieved. Kätzchen, I was so scared.”

“I can tell. It wasn't a great night, that's for sure.” She stopped at her bedroom door. “Did Dylan text you? My phone's busted.”

“Oh...I think my phone is in my bag...in the jet...” He gave her a sheepish look.

“Well, go get it. I guess you're staying the night again, right?”

“Absolutely.”

At first, she didn't want to admit how glad she was to see him. “I'm glad you're here,” she said before he left to get his things. “Even if you did interrupt my bath.”

“By all means, finish, I can entertain myself.”

“No, I don't need it now. I can relax with you instead.”

  
  


Kurt returned in a puff of smoke and dropped his bag, phone in hand. “ _Ja_ , there it is, Dylan's message.” He laughed. “Still, I was already here, so...What happened? Are you all right? ”

He sat down beside her, and Kitty felt like all the fear and fatigue and anger had finally risen to the surface, and she dropped her head against his chest. “No.”

She fought the tears. She hated crying, but even the strong break now and then. She cried into his chest while he kept his arms around her and she soaked his uniform. She moved her head off the zipper and picked at it with one finger.

“Doesn't your fur get stuck in it?” she said, sniffling.

“In what, the zipper? _Ja_ , sometimes.”

She wiped her eyes and moved so she could rest her head more comfortably against his shoulder. He pulled his gloves off and tossed them on her end table, then ran his hands through her hair, tucking it to the side of her face. She liked the way the fuzz pulled slightly against her hair, just enough to make her scalp tingle. She sighed and he felt some of the tension go out of her back.

“Ah, _mein_ Kätzchen, it's been a rough few weeks, _ja_?”

“ _Ja_ ,” she repeated and he made a soft sound of amusement in his throat.

Kitty had no idea what time it was, only that she was finally relaxed for the first time in weeks. Somehow Kurt managed to put everything into place. Right now she trusted him to be on alert for her. He shifted under her, and she sat up, pushing her palm flat against his chest.

“You wanna change?”

“Please, but I'll be right back.”

He grabbed his bag and went into her bathroom. Moments later she heard laughing from within, and the door cracked open. “I packed in rather a hurry and it seems I've forgotten my pajama pants.”

“Okay so sleep in whatever. I don't care.”

“You're sure?”

“I mean, I don't think I could ignore you if you were naked or something, but yeah, I really don't care right now.”

“Okay.”

He sounded unsure, but after a few minutes, during which Kitty wondered what he was doing and if he was going to come out in his underwear, the door opened. Kitty turned around on the couch. “Those are boxers.”

“ _Ja_. I don't have anything else. I have jeans or my uniform.”

“I mean, why do you even _have_ boxers? I thought you wore, y'know, tighty-whities,” she giggled.

He didn't move from the doorway. “Why do you know that? No, never mind. I know the answer to that and I'd rather not think about it. The answer to your question is that Scott bought some boxers, but they were the wrong size, and he gave me the ones he didn't try on. I must have grabbed a pair when I was shoving things into my bag. There are five or six shirts in there.”

Kitty smiled fondly at him, and started crying again. “Dammit,” she mumbled, wiping her eyes. “Can't believe you did this.”

“What, forgot my pants?” he said.

She giggled and lifted wet eyes to his face when he finally sat down. “You came for me.”

He pulled her into his arms again. “Of course I did. Of course.”

“Thank you,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him. “Will you stay?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

  
  


Kurt's phone told him it was late, almost three in the morning, and he felt it. Kitty seemed to be permanently glued to his side tonight, but she must be tired, he reasoned.

“Do you want to go to bed?” he said, thinking the words had a decidedly suggestive sound to them.

She didn't seem to notice. “No.”

“Come on, _liebchen_ , you must be tired.”

“I am.”

“Kitty?”

“Hm?”

“You need to sleep. I'll come with you.”

She didn't answer him right away.

“Okay.”

When she stood up, her knees ached, and she wobbled from sleepiness. She crawled into her bed, dropping her head to the pillow. Kurt turned off the light, and the lights in the living room, surreptitiously checking out the windows as he did while she couldn't see him. Kitty was never scared. She was one of the bravest women he knew, in fact. She must be tired.

When he returned, he thought she might already be asleep, but she lifted her head when he started to settle on the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He glanced up. “Getting ready to sleep.”

“On the floor?”

He looked around at the floor, but yes, that's where he was. “ _Ja_?”

He could see her eyes darting in the dark, trying to focus on his shadowy form. He crouched beside the bed and took her hand in his. “Do you want me to sit with you?”

“No. But will you cuddle with me?”

“All right.”

She felt like a child asking like that, but she didn't know what else to say, and she wanted him close tonight. If he was here, she could sleep. The bed rustled and dipped as he crawled in, and she rolled toward him, pushing her face into his shoulder. His arm rested across her waist and rubbed gently at her back.

Tension slowly ebbed away from both of them, and soon he felt the tight grip of her fingers in his shirt loosening as she fell asleep. He kissed her forehead chastely and went to sleep.


	5. Domestic Tranquility or Something Like It

She was still asleep when he woke up, her back pressed against his chest and her backside making him uncomfortable every time she moved. Her hair caught in the fuzz of his face, tickling, and he used his tail to sweep it away so he didn't have to move his hand. She had tucked it under her jaw and had her arm wrapped around it. He could wake like this every day, with a woman he loved at his side.

He loved her, more than he'd ever admitted to himself. He thought back, trying to pinpoint the moment his feelings had flipped from friendship to love, but he couldn't. She made a small sound in her sleep, and he flicked his eyes down, but he could only see the top of her head and part of her nose.

  
  


She jerked awake, startling him, then let her head drop again. “Ugh. What a night.”

“ _Ja_.”

She rolled to her back, to his relief, but she still held his arm around her waist. Her shirt had ridden up in the night and his arm rested on her bare stomach. He wished he could run his hand over that smooth skin, over her hips and across her ribs.

“I don't wanna get up but I'm hungry,” she said, breaking his reverie. “Are you hungry?”

“Mm, _ja_ , I could eat,” he said, wishing he could stay here with her longer.

She climbed out of the bed as if she slept with her best friend every night. Her hair was tousled from sleep, and her shorts were crooked and her shirt was still not quite right.

“You coming?” she said from the doorway, looking back at him. He swallowed. Her hand gripped the door frame as she glanced over her shoulder at him, still sitting in her bed. She smiled slightly.

“ _Ja_ ,” he said again, and threw back the covers to follow her out.

“I just have cereal. You want some?”

“Sure. _Danke_.”

Over breakfast, he got the full story from the previous night, all the details she had been too shaken up to share.

“Well, you know Purity's out of control. You've heard them.”

“Every time you go to class,” he replied.

“They jumped me behind the bar, but they had weapons, Kurt. Some flashing lights that kept me from being able to phase.”

“I saw one of those,” he said.

“You did? When?”

“When I got here. I didn't turn on the image inducer, and I guess they thought they'd come after me, too. But I got to the roof and they ran off.”

Kitty growled, and her face was set in a scowl. “I'm sick of this. I'm sick of _them_!” She let the spoon fall into her bowl. “And I don't know what else to do.”

He got up and stood beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder. He made up his mind not to leave until Purity was dealt with for good. “We'll come up with something. We always do.”

She smiled then. “You're right. We do. God, I'm glad you're here.”

After breakfast, she told him she had to study, but he was welcome to watch television. He dressed in his uniform and grabbed the image inducer. “I need to purchase a few things. Want anything while I'm out?”

“Beer. Or wine. Anything with alcohol in it. And bananas.”

“Okay. I have my phone,” he said, double checking that he did.

“I don't have one right now.”

“We can go later and replace it if you want.”

“Nah, I'll order one online.”

He left cautiously, taking great care to check the area before going out. With his inducer on, he looked like a passing human, and hopefully none of the Purity members were around. And if they were, hopefully they wouldn't know where he was coming from.

He stopped in the corner store and bought bananas, and then a drug store, where he found two pairs of lounge pants that would fit. They had books, too, and a book of puzzles and crosswords. And they had alcohol. At the counter, he threw a few candy bars into his pile and paid, pleased he'd been able to get everything he needed here.

He surveyed her parking lot when he returned, and noticed the signs on the posts. He pulled one down, then went around the lot taking all of them down. He crumpled them up and threw them into the dumpster before going up to her apartment.

Kitty let him in, taking the bag with the food and alcohol from him. It felt domestic to be making purchases for the two of them. He imagined, for a moment, that they were a couple, living here and leading normal lives and coming home to one another after work each day. Watching stupid sitcoms in the evening and going to bed to read and make love and sleep.

“Oh good, you got wine,” she said.

“I do not think it is very good wine, but it is something.”

“It'll do. I can't afford good stuff usually, anyway. The Dinkelacker was a special treat.” She kissed his cheek when she passed him on her way back to her studies. Yes, he could imagine a life with her. He changed from his uniform into more casual clothes and settled onto the couch to read his new book.

It was surprisingly good for being purchased on a whim at a drug store, and he hardly noticed when Kitty packed up her things. He did notice when she put her head in his lap with her own book in hand, and he had a much more difficult time reading after that. He petted her hair, sliding his fingers up the back of her neck and up through the hair. She stopped reading and put her book down.

“I love it when you do that,” she said in a voice that sounded almost sleepy, but was really just very relaxed.

He put his book down, too, and used both hands. Sometimes she shivered a little.

He continued slowly massaging her scalp, her neck, and her shoulders until her phone rang. She flipped it over with a soft grunt, to see who it was, then sat up. She spoke to someone for a few minutes and then started packing her backpack.

“I have to meet the project group. Something went wrong and we have to brainstorm some solutions.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“You probably don't have to.”

“Kitty, we haven't discussed anything but I'd like to stay a few days at least. I know you don't need me to protect you but for my own peace of mind—”

“I'd love it if you stayed.”

“Oh. _Wunderbar_. I'm glad.” He scratched the back of his head.

She grabbed some snacks and a drink from the fridge and stuffed them in her bag. “You wanna walk with me to the building? I can show you some of campus and we can talk.”

“Give me one minute.” He grabbed his jeans and changed for the third time that day, hurrying so she wouldn't be late.

“No inducer?”

“No. Let them come at us both.”

He didn't have to tell her he was angry. She was, too. “What about those flashy things?”

“We'll deal with them if we have to. Hopefully we won't.”

  
  


The walk through campus was uneventful on a Saturday, and Kitty pointed out her academic buildings and some of the more interesting sights on campus. They got the usual looks from people they passed, but no one said anything, and she didn't notice anyone with Purity signs.

Until they reached her building. They seemed to have assembled in a hurry. Someone must have seen them walking and made a guess where Kitty was going. She felt Kurt tense up, ready for a fight, and she grabbed his hand. If they needed to phase or teleport away, they'd be ready.

“You bring your freaky boyfriend to protect you?” someone said.

Kitty scowled. “Protect me from what? Are you threatening to hurt me?”

One of the others elbowed the first one. “No. You're the only threat, mutie. We're just people who think you don't belong here.”

They made it into the building, and the Purity members stayed outside. “It's like that every day,” Kitty said. “Only there's usually more of them.”

“I think I'll stay here while you're working,” Kurt said, wishing he'd brought his book.

She was still holding his hand. “You'll be so bored.”

“No matter, Kätzchen. I'll keep an eye on them, and perhaps I will have some incredible insight into your project.”

They went down several flights of stairs to the basement room where their project was, moved from the building Purity had blown up months ago and hastily rebuilt.

“I think when I get my degree, I'll come back to the team,” she said as they went down the stairs.

“Really? You've changed your mind about working?”

“I'd miss you too much,” she said bluntly.

His heart warmed, but he pressed her. “You don't think we'd stay friends?”

“I don't know. I hope we would.” She turned to him. “But it's hard and I know how it is on the team. Look how hard it's been just getting to see you more than a day at a time.”

“Whatever you decide to do after you graduate, Kätzchen, rest assured, I will always be here for you. And I will always be your friend.”

She kissed his cheek again and let go of his hand. “This is the room. You wanna see our project?”

  
  


Three hours later, Kitty's group finally finished up. It was just after one in the afternoon, and to their relief, the Purity group seemed to have gotten bored and left.

“I'm starving. I think the cafeteria is still serving lunch, or we can stop at the sub shop on the way home,” Kitty said.

“You choose.”

“Sub shop. Less chance of running into Purity.” She frowned. “I hate feeling like I have to live my life around them.”

Kurt agreed. “After lunch, let's take a break and do something fun, then figure out how to put a stop to this so you can finish the school year in peace.”

“Okay, but classes are over at the end of the week. Then it's all exams, and I have to study. How long, uh, were you going to stay?”

“I don't know. If Purity continues to be a problem, I may stay longer and try to keep them at bay, maybe call in a few of the others to help. What they're doing to you and the other mutants on campus is wrong.”

“So you might be here a while.”

“Unless you want me to leave.” His heart raced waiting for her answer.

“No. It's nice having you around.”

In the time she'd lived alone, Kitty had learned a few things about herself. She liked living alone. She liked making all the decisions herself. She missed her friends. Having Kurt here again, showing him around campus and eating breakfast with him, waking up with him, she wanted that, too. And maybe she couldn't have all of it the way she wanted, but she missed him and she missed her team. She missed the excitement of missions and the thrill of saving people.

  
  


They took their sandwiches to a nearby park and ate them on a bench. Kids played in a fountain, and there was a view of the skyline through the trees. This was the Chicago she wanted to show him, not the one full of hate groups and dark alleys where people chased women down.

“Why don't we go into the city?” Kitty suggested. “There's a lot to see there and we've got time.”

A short train ride brought them to one of the busiest areas, Millennium Park. “You have to see this fountain,” she said. “It spits.”

“ _Was_?”

“Yeah, just wait.”

The fountain was two huge brick walls on which were projected images of people's faces. After a few minutes, each face puckered up, and water shot out of a spout in the wall located in the vicinity of the images mouth. It made them look like they were spitting.

Children ran back and forth, gathering in front of the faces just before they spat. Kitty noticed the look on Kurt's face and started to back away, too late. She let him grab her and carry her into the spray as it shot out, soaking both of them.

“You dork, we'll freeze!” she fussed, but she wasn't really upset. Her shoes were full of water, and she kicked it up at him. He let her, pretending to take the consequences for his actions. But when the faces puckered up, he caught her again and playfully dragged her back into the spray. Children who had run to the other end in fear, began to creep back, realizing he was no one to be afraid of. Some were curious, others went back to playing and ignored him.

One child stood watching him playing with Kitty in the water until Kurt waved and smiled.

“Are you wearing a costume?” the child said.

“No, this is how I look all the time.”

“Are you a mutant?”

“ _Ja_ , I am.”

“Oh. Okay. Cool.” And he ran off to tell his friends.

“Great,” Kitty said with a smirk. “Now you'll tell everyone you're cool and it'll go to your head.”

“I can't deny my true nature, Kätzchen. I _am_ cool.”

The temperatures weren't particularly warm, even for spring, and Kitty began to shiver. “Now what, genius?” she said. “We have to get all the way back to my apartment like this.” She sloshed over to a bench. “My shoes are gross.”

“My jeans have doubled their weight,” Kurt said. “But it was fun.”

“Yeah, it was. Except I'm freezing.”

He sat down with his arm around her. “Then let's get back quickly.” She pulled off her shoes and dumped out the water.

They stopped at the public restrooms and Kitty squeezed as much water out of her clothes as she could, then met Kurt outside for the cold, wet walk to the train. By the time they reached her apartment, her teeth were chattering and Kurt was no longer so proud of his playful antics.

“I'm so sorry,” he kept saying.

“It's okay,” she kept replying.

Approaching the parking lot, they could see people in a small huddle near her door, so Kurt teleported them the rest of the way inside. Kitty went to her room to change, and Kurt turned on the water for a warm bath.

She came out in a fluffy robe, with clean clothes in her arms. He was still dripping on the floor from his jeans, though he'd taken his shirt off and wrung it out in her sink. She came in behind him and put her clothes on the lid of the hamper. “You can leave it in the sink. We can do some laundry later.”

“ _Danke_. I hope the temperature is good,” he said, nodding towards the tub.

“I'm sure it'll be fine. Thanks for that. And for today. It was really good to have fun.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek again, her lips pressed into the fuzz on his cheek a little longer than usual.


	6. A Surprise Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I have a thing for surprises. Huh.

Kurt's wet jeans were in Kitty's kitchen sink and her shoes were drying on a window ledge in the sun. He had a book in his hands, a beer on the table, and the sounds of Kitty in the bathtub in his ear. This was something he could get used to. He pretended the truth of it wasn't important. It couldn't hurt to have his fantasy for a few minutes.

He heard the tub drain and tried to picture what she was doing. Standing up, water running over her body in rivulets, the ends of her hair still wet. Drying off with a soft towel, bending to dry her legs and feet. He shifted on the couch and picked up the puzzle book instead. Sudoku, that would work. Thin cotton lounge pants would not hide anything obvious from her. He started working the puzzle and was on the second when she came out.

“I'd like to shower if it's all right,” he said.

“Of course. Then we can hang all the wet stuff in the tub.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Much better. I needed that today. Just think, if you hadn't shown up, I'd have spent the whole day studying.” She took a sip of his beer without asking and grinned at him. “That's payback,” she said with a smirk. “Oh, and I have to work tonight.”

If that was payback, then he wanted to earn more of it. He had never been so turned on by someone drinking beer. With some effort, he swallowed and made his way to the bathroom.

  
  


Kitty sat down in the space he'd vacated. Whenever he visited, her furniture took on the faint scent of brimstone for a few days. She picked up the Sudoku puzzle he'd started and filled in a few more blocks. She wasn't quite ready to return to her studying. She smiled to herself, remembering the day, his arms around her waist as he carried her to the fountain. She could have phased free, of course. He knew that, too, knew she'd never put up with it if she didn't want to play around, too.

His hair, when wet, flattened to his head and the drops soaked into his fuzz, darkening it even more. It settled into the grooves of his muscles and bones and made him look even more sculpted than he was naturally. She imagined tracing those indentations, following the slight curve of muscles in his arms. Or his chest. The water shut off and she got up to make something to eat before her shift started.

  
  


Kurt went to the bar with her and she introduced him to Dylan.

“You're the guy who called the other night,” Dylan said. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you. Kitty has told me so much about you.”

“All lies, I'm sure,” Dylan joked. “You want a beer?”

“Do you have imports?”

“A few. What're you looking for?”

They discussed the imports while Kitty served another customer. Kurt stayed long enough to drink his beer, but he didn't want Kitty to feel like he was babysitting her. He told her he'd be at her apartment if she needed him.

“I get off at midnight,” she said. “If you're awake, I wouldn't mind having company on the walk home.”

“I can manage that,” he said. Considering what had happened the last time she left work, he shouldn't attribute any significance to it, but it still made him glad he'd come out to see her again.

He finished the last sip of his beer and pushed back from the bar to leave.

Kitty called to him from the other end. “Hey, you forgot something.” She leaned across the bar and tapped her cheek. He gave her a playful grin, but he pressed his lips to her cheek tenderly, not hurrying.

Kitty was slightly flustered when she stood up, licking her lips before she said, “See you later.”

She hadn't expected a kiss on her cheek to be so arousing. But it took her a full minute to get her head into her job after he walked out. Dylan just shook his head.

Kurt discovered he could teleport from the bar directly to her apartment. That was good because his head was spinning, and not from two beers.

  
  


He went back at 11:45, walking because teleporting was too risky. He used the image inducer in case the Purity folks were out, and sure enough, he passed several of them waiting in front of the bar, pretending to be looking at a bus schedule. They had the flashing light things in their hands. Inside, Kitty was still serving drinks, but she recognized him when he walked in.

“How?” he asked, leaning on his elbows at the bar. “This is a new setting.”

“It's the way you walk,” she said with a smile.

“They're out there,” he said, and she frowned, understanding exactly who he meant. “But I have discovered I your apartment is not that far and I believe I can get us both there with very little trouble.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mm, _ja_ , it was no strain earlier.”

“Yeah, but you didn't have a passenger.”

She started wiping down the counters behind the bar.

“I consider myself a professional teleporter, mad'moiselle. I know what I'm talking about.”

“Now you're French?”

“Never. I only speak it because we used to work there.”

“I only speak it because I took a class in high school, before I left.” She tossed the rag into the dirty bin. “I'm going, Dylan,” she called into the back room. “Kurt's here.”

“Be careful,” he replied.

“We're taking the express,” she said. She motioned Kurt into the back room where there weren't any customers, and with a little wave to Dylan, they disappeared.

  
  


Teleporting always made her slightly queasy, especially over a longer than usual distance. She took a moment to let her stomach settle, hands on his arms while he held her hips.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said, and went into her room.

Kurt changed quickly and settled down on the couch. He was straightening the sheets on the couch when she came out. She looked surprised for a moment, and then started helping.

She wanted to tell him it was okay to sleep in her bed. She wanted to ask him to sleep in her bed, but if he didn't want to be there...he clearly didn't.

“All set?” she said.

“Looks like it.” They were silent for an awkward moment, then he stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Kätzchen.”

“G'night, Kurt.”

  
  


The next day, while Kitty studied, Kurt busied himself around her apartment, washing the few dirty dishes, sweeping the kitchen and bathroom floors, and then went for a walk. He discovered a playground a few blocks from her apartment complex, and spent half an hour entertaining some kids with his antics on the jungle gym.

She took a break for lunch and they went out to eat, and in the afternoon, she gave him her mailbox key. Her phone had arrived.

“Thank god,” she said when he brought it to her. “I need to call my mom today.”

She took only a few minutes to set it up, fiddling with the settings before putting it down again.

“Tomorrow is the last week of classes before exams. What's your plan?” She was curled in the corner of the couch and he joined her at the far end. She stretched out her legs until her feet pressed against his hip.

“I would like to walk with you to class and see firsthand what's going on. I had hoped to come up with a way to make them stop, but I've been visiting with you and I admit, I haven't thought about it much.”

“Slacker,” she teased. “Okay. If you want. You're probably itching to get back to New York.”

“Not really,” he said. “But if you are sick of me—”

“Nope.” She shook her head and poked him with her foot.

“Not even a little?”

“We lived in a lighthouse and a train for months. I'm pretty sure I can live with you in an apartment for a few more days or however long you're planning to stay.”

He leaned forward. “Good to know you can tolerate my company,” he said drily, poking her arm playfully with the tip of his tail.

“I take it back,” she said.

He sobered then, deciding how to address the subject of his visit. He wanted to stay, but he wasn't sure how long he'd be welcome, or when she might decide he was hovering or being overprotective.

“I think we should discuss my business here with some seriousness,” he said. “I feel uncomfortable leaving you alone again, with those people having attacked you and following you around. I would like to know you're safe, and I know you don't need me to protect you, but...”

“I like that you're here,” she said. “And not just because of Purity. I missed you. A lot.”

He was surprised at how readily she said it. She seemed serious, too. She wasn't playing around like before. And her eyes were focused intently on his.

“I missed you, too. It isn't the same without you. Do you want me to stay?” Best to get straight to the point.

“Yes,” she said. “You can stay as long as you feel like you need to. Or want to. Unless you get really annoying or something,” she added with a smirk.

“Hm, I should reconsider dunking you in fountains, then.”

“Maybe.” She frowned. “I have to ask you something.”

“You can ask me anything, Kätzchen.” Butterflies flapped around in his stomach.

“You're not staying here to avoid dealing with Rachel and Ororo, are you?”

He deserved that. “No,” he said. “I spoke to Rachel before I came out here. And I think Ororo did not see our dance in the same light I did. She and Logan are quite close.”

“Oh. Oh!” Kitty's eyes went wide. “Like....dating?”

“If not, then something else perhaps.”

“Ohh. Friends with benefits.”

“Perhaps.” He began to relax again, leaning into the corner of her couch.

“People think that's you and Ororo.”

“ _Was_?”

“Oh yeah. Kind of the general consensus. At least, it was when I was there.”

“I assure you, that is not the case. We have been very close on occasion, but never...we were never intimate.”

“It's your business,” she said.

“I don't mind telling you.”

Kitty laughed. “And why is that?

He took the easy answer. “Because you are my best friend and you've already seen me at my worst.”

“Yeah, that's true.”

“No need to agree so heartily, Kätzchen.”

She eyed her books and papers in their stack on the floor. She should get back to them. But it was so good to be joking with Kurt and not worrying about stupid hate groups.

“I should let you get back to your studies,” he said, noticing where her gaze was directed. He reached to the end table and picked up one of the puzzle books. “Do you have an extra pencil?”

They worked in comfortable silence until dinnertime when Kurt put down his books and stretched his back. He leaned over the side of the couch. “Do you want me to pick up something to eat?”

“Oh, it's dinnertime already? Okay. Sure. You know the stuff I like.”

  
  


Purity was in her parking lot again, in masks, with weapons. Kurt had the image inducer on, so they didn't notice him, but as soon as he was past them, he teleported onto the roof to watch them. Then he pulled out his phone and took a video of them. They stood around for a while and then slowly, almost by accident, moved closer to Kitty's building. He was content to observe them until one of them walked up to the door of her building.

He leaped down, landing behind several huddled close together, lashing out at their weapons before they could activate them. Unfortunately, one man got his turned on, and Kurt was momentarily dazed. Someone kicked him in the side, and he grabbed them with his tail and pulled them down.

Someone came out of a neighboring building to see what the noise was, and a Purity member screamed, “This monster's attacking us!”

The neighbor seemed skeptical, since the large group of masked people had what appeared to be a clear advantage. Kurt realized he needed to take out their weapons if he was going to have a chance with them. As soon as he got his bearings, he lunged for one of the lights, knocking it to the ground where he crushed it. The others turned on him, all their weapons flashing at once, and he fell to his knees.

More neighbors appeared, but none moved from their porches, they only stared or videotaped the fight. The lights flashed non-stop now, and Kurt couldn't even get to his feet, let alone fight back. He couldn't teleport, either. He could only try to hold on until they stopped long enough for him to get away again.

And then someone burst out of Kitty's apartment and punched the first two Purity members, sending them sprawling. The flashing stopped as they all turned to see who it was. Once the lights stopped, Kurt kicked out the feet of three nearby Purity members, and sent another sprawling on his backside with a punch to the stomach. As each went down, he and Kitty smashed their weapons.

Without a word to them, Kitty grabbed Kurt by the arm and helped him up. “You okay?”

“I've been worse.” He held his side as several cop cars pulled into the lot.

Immediately the Purity group began pulling off their masks and claiming they were attacked. Kurt waited for the officers to question him, told them what happened. Some of the neighbors corroborated his story, and Kitty told the officers the group was masked and carried weapons, and had been harassing her for weeks.

In the end, nothing happened. The members of Purity were sent home with warnings to stay away from the apartment complex. The officers took down Kitty's and Kurt's information and warned them that next time they'd be heading for jail. Kitty thought it went well overall.

Short of moving or quitting school, Kitty didn't know what to do. She didn't have legal recourse against them.

Inside, she made grilled cheese sandwiches and Kurt lay on the couch with an ice pack on his head. “What are those flashing things?” he moaned now and then.

“No idea. But sunglasses helped a little,” she said.

“I wondered.” He sat up when she brought the sandwiches out.

“I'm gonna spy on them. And then I'm going to send the info to the police and prove they're actively trying to hurt people. And I'm gonna give all of it to the Dean of Students, too.”

“Backup plan?”

“Quit school,” she said softly.

Kurt didn't know what to say.

Kitty put her head in her hands. “I don't think I can take another year of this, Kurt. Having you here made me feel better, but now they're attacking you, too, and I can't watch them beat you up when we can't even fight back.”

“Their weapons can be destroyed.”

“I still can't fight back. I'll get kicked out. Believe me, the school would rather kick out the _mutie_ than their pretty little human students.”

“We should get the rest of the team out here.”

“For what? What can they do? They can't fight a bunch of kids, either. It's not like they're Magneto's Acolytes, or Sinister's clones, or the Brotherhood. They're just asshole humans.”

She stormed into the kitchen, angry at the circumstances. Kurt followed her, dropping the ice pack into the sink. “I've watched this dream of yours slip through your hands too many times, Kätzchen. I will do everything I can to keep you in school.”

“I want to stay, too.” She put her head against him. “Assholes. Beating up my friend,” she said into his chest. She hooked her hands behind his back. Standing in his arms was calming, especially when he rubbed her back like he was now. She began to formulate a plan. “Don't walk with me to class,” she said.

“Why not?”

“I want them to think you're gone. Use the inducer, don't go out without it. I'll give you books to carry so you blend in.”

“Okay. I see where you're going with this.”

“I'm gonna be extra nasty and keep their focus on me. Then maybe...”

“I can join them.”

“Ohhh...” She lifted her head. “That's a good idea, unless they recognize your voice.”

“What if I talk like this?” he said, imitating Rogue's drawl. Kitty laughed.

“That's pretty good, actually!” She was still standing in the circle of his arms, and she found herself staring at soft blue lips curved in a mischievous smile. The white of fangs showed a little. She took a breath as her laughter faded. He wasn't smiling anymore, either.

“Kurt,” she said, but her voice came out like a whisper. “I can't believe you're gonna do this. It's dangerous.”

“My life is always dangerous, Kätzchen. This will benefit all the mutants on campus if we can shut them down.”

“Yeah,” she said, frozen in place. His hands stilled on her back, one moving to her hair and her cheek, brushing across it softly. “They'll be pretty happy.”

“I'm not doing it for them,” he said. “I'm doing it for you.”

She swallowed. “Well, of course you are. You're my best friend.” She laid one palm against his chest, his heart beating beneath it.

Kitty closed her eyes. She had to step away. This was Kurt, typical Kurt, playing the romantic swashbuckler after a big fight. Walk away.

She turned out of his arms and he let her go. “I...I gotta check my laundry.”

  
  


They watched a movie and she didn't sit close to him. They didn't talk much, either, and he went to bed unhappy and unsure what to do. He had been so close to kissing her, to telling her how he felt, and he thought...She simply didn't love him, and he would have to get used to that. Otherwise, he could feel the distance between them growing already. It would be the Grand Canyon if he wasn't careful.

In the morning, he tried to act like himself, cheerful and full of energy, when all he wanted to do was crawl into a real bed and hide. She eyed him warily for a while and finally seemed to decide everything was okay.

Kitty knew better than to fall for his charm like that. What had she been thinking? He could turn it on and off like a light, the morning was proof. She ought to be angry at him, but instead, she was disappointed. Was she the only woman he wasn't attracted to? She wasn't sure how to take that piece of information.

She stayed in her room to study, rather than the living room. He could watch television or movies then, and not worry about bothering her. When Piotr called, she was actually glad to hear from him. When he asked how things were going, she told him about Purity, about the attacks and the weapons and her plan to spy on them. Then he offered to come out and protect her.

“That's okay, Piotr. Kurt's here.”

“He is still there?”

“Yeah, didn't he tell you guys?”

“He did not tell me anything.”

“Oh, well, I'm sure he told someone.”

“Are you sure you do not want me to come?”

“Yeah, I'm sure. I have exams the next two weeks. I'm trying to study.”

  
  


From the living room, Kurt could hear her on the phone, not what she was saying, but the tone of her voice. He could tell she was happy, talking to someone she liked. Maybe a friend from school. Did she have any friends at school? He hadn't met any, other than the students she was working with.

For two days the tension between them was palpable. She smiled and spoke to him, and they ate meals together, and watched movies, but there was a gulf that hadn't been there before. Kurt was sure this was what would happen if she found out how he felt about her, so he resolved to be more _friend_ and less _friend-with-crush_.

He went through the days pretending everything was fine. When she went to her class for an exam, he went another way and watched. If Purity got close, he'd enter the crowd and start asking them questions, looking interested. They invited him to their next meeting.

The meeting was in the evening in a room in one of the university buildings. Kurt had a mini recorder in his pocket, his image inducer set carefully to the face they'd seen in the crowd asking questions, and practiced his Southern accent.

Kitty watched him getting ready. She'd barely spoken to him in two days, other than casual conversation or necessary questions and answers. She used the excuse of studying for exams, and he acted like he was fine, but she knew that act too well. He was upset. Well, too bad, she argued with herself. He never learned. Maybe if she gave him the cold shoulder, maybe their friendship meant enough to him to make him actually change his behavior. And if not...she hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

“Are you sure you don't want me to hang out somewhere close by?” she said.

He adjusted the image inducer again before flicking his eyes at her. “No, I don't think it will be necessary. As far as they know, I'm a college student who hates _muties_.”

“Did you memorize your fake class schedule?”

“ _Ja_.”

“And exams?”

“ _Ja_.”

“Professors?”

“ _Ja_ , I've got it all, Kätzchen. Stop worrying.”

“I'm not worried.”

He glanced at her again. “Okay.” He flashed a smile at her and waved as he left.


	7. A Shocking Development

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For real, I have no idea what I'm doing with these chapter titles. Just ignore them.

The meeting was packed. Kurt couldn't believe how many people were stuffed into the little room, standing along the walls and crowded against the tables. He stood along a wall near the back door, keeping his tail carefully secured around his leg lest someone feel it and catch on to his disguise. At the front of the room he saw Michael, the man who had come to Kitty's apartment, and a woman with him who introduced herself as Alice. There were several others, all calling themselves leaders of the Purity Movement. The crowd of people applauded them when they stood up to speak.

Alice was first, and she welcomed all the new and inquiring humans. She gave a brief explanation and overview of the group's intentions—to purify humanity and rid it of the infectious mutant gene. In turn, the others spoke, each echoing Alice's hateful sentiments and encouraging the students in the group to be vocal, especially to obvious muties.

“We want them to know they aren't welcome here. We want them to know they won't be tolerated on our campus. This isn't Xavier's mutant school, this is a college with a fine reputation, and it's for humans!” Alice said, riling up the crowd.

Kurt's stomach twisted as they continued, spouting hate and condemnation, simply because of an accident of birth. It made him sick. He couldn't wait to get back to Kitty's apartment, even with the distance between them. His mind drifted briefly, wondering what else he could do to bridge that gap before it grew even wider. He was shocked back to attention with Alice's next words.

“We have some new people with us today and we'd like to meet them. So if you're new here, please, come on up! We have a few gifts for you.”

A rumble went through the crowd as a few people stepped up eagerly, and a few others held back, himself included.

“Come on now, don't be shy. We're all friends here,” Michael said. Kurt swore he was looking at him. Instinct told him this was a trap. Don't go up there, he thought. Then again, if he was going to be useful, he'd have to convince them. So he started forward, forcing a smile and hoping he only looked nervous.

At the edge of the area where Alice and Michael were standing, he hesitated again, but joined the other five or so people now in a row flanked by the two Purity leaders.

“We have gifts, as I said. These are disrupters, invented by our very own Michael. They daze, confuse, and cause muties to lose focus. And that means they can't use their powers against us.” Michael handed one to each of them. Kurt examined his closely. He was sure they'd want it back so he tried to remember everything he could about them. If he got to take it with him, maybe Kitty could figure out how it worked.

“As a sign of solidarity, we're going to turn them all on at once,” Alice said, and Kurt's blood went cold. He wasn't sure he could handle it. Just a few of them had felled him outside. He shifted uneasily, wondering if he could leave without causing a scene.

“What's the matter, man? Don't you hate muties?” Michael stared at him, a curious expression on his face.

“Yes,” Kurt said, remembering the accent. “I get nervous in front of crowds.”

“Oh,” Michael said, “I'll stand close by and you won't feel so alone.”

Should he leave now and blow his cover? Stand his ground and pray he could make it through? He had to decide quickly before

FLASH

The whole room went white.

His ears rang. He felt sick. He wasn't sure he could feel any part of his body, but when the light returned to normal, he realized he was still standing, still holding the light weapon, and everyone was cheering. He forced a smile and a cheer. Michael looked confused, but shrugged and moved away from him.

The meeting concluded shortly afterwards, and as he'd suspected, Alice and Michael collected the weapons at the door. He managed to walk out with the crowd, allowing them to jostle him somewhat to camouflage his wobbly gait. He felt sick and dizzy and he wasn't sure he could get back to her apartment before he passed out. Outside the building, he let the fresh air revive him somewhat, and then he teleported.

He arrived in Kitty's apartment and collapsed on the floor.

  
  


He woke up in her bed, his face buried in her sheets. The room was dark and quiet, shades fully drawn. He tested his body and everything seemed to work. He rolled to his back and blinked, looking for her clock. Just after three. He sat up, rubbing his head, and swung his legs off the bed. He stood up slowly, but he felt fine. He opened the door and realized it was not morning, it was the middle of the day.

“Kurt!”

Kitty had been sitting outside the bedroom door, and she scrambled to her feet when he emerged, hugging him so tight it almost hurt. He tolerated it because it meant she still cared.

“Oh my god, I didn't know what to do,” she said into his neck.

“Fill me in when I get back,” he said.

“What, where are you going?” She pulled back, hands on his arms and a panicked look in her eyes.

“The bathroom.”

“Oh. Right, sure.” She backed up, blushing in embarrassment, and picked up her things from the floor. She went to the kitchen and grabbed snacks, tossing chips and fruit on the table by the couch.

He had a brief moment of dizziness in the bathroom, but made it out to the couch. He took an apple off the table and bit into it, relishing the sweetness of it. He was starving. “What happened after I passed out?”

“You kept passing out over and over,” she said as she watched him eat. She stood by the kitchen, twisting her fingers together.

“I don't remember that.” He wanted to ask her to sit with him, but she clearly didn't want to do that. She was still avoiding him. He hung his head in disappointment.

“I was so scared. Kurt, what happened?”

“I went to the meeting, and they made us all go up front. They used all the disrupters at once. I can't believe I didn't pass out right then.”

“I hate this plan,” she said, and her voice caught. “I don't want to do it anymore. I decided to drop out.”

“ _Was_?”

She folded her arms across her stomach and stood straight. “I have the paperwork. I just have to turn it in.”

“No, Kätzchen, don't do that. There must be another way.” He sat forward, testing his stability, but the room rocked back and forth, and he decided to stay on the couch a little longer.

She shook her head at him stubbornly. “No, I—I can't let you get hurt because of me.”

“That's very kind of you, Kätzchen, but I'm all right.”

“No you aren't, look at you. You can't even stand up. And how do you know those things didn't do something really awful to you, something permanent? We don't know what they're doing or how they work or anything. I can't take chances like that. Not with you.”

“I'll be fine,” he said, trying to reassure her, although she had a point. He'd been unconscious a long time.

“No,” she said. “My mind's made up. If the school won't keep everyone safe, then I don't want to be here.”

He sipped the juice she'd brought him, and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I don't want you to give up on your dream. It's the best one any of us have.”

“No it isn't, Kurt. And it's not worth it. What if they killed you?” He could see her hands shaking. “If you had passed out in that meeting...who knows what they would have done to you.”

“You think they're killers?”

“I think they don't care who gets hurt because of what they do. Alice rigged our last project to blow up. A bunch of people were in the building. She was pissed because none of the mutants died.”

Kurt sighed and put his head in his hand. His head was pounding.

She came over and handed him the juice again. “Drink a little more, you're dehydrated.” He drank it, and she refilled it with water. This time, she sat down on the couch beside him, close enough to put her hand on his back.

He decided to take a chance. “Are we okay?”

“Yeah, Fuzzy, we're okay. You and I are always okay.” She put her arms around him and kissed the side of his head. “I _love_ you, Kurt.”

“I love you, too, Kätzchen,” he said.

“You scared me.”

“I'm a little unnerved by it myself.” His stomach felt queasy, and he pushed the food away and lay down. “I hoped they would let me take the light—the disrupter with me, but no luck.”

“It's okay. It doesn't matter. I only have one exam left, on Wednesday, and then I'm done.”

He sighed and rubbed his head again. He wanted to argue with her more, try again to convince her to stick it out, but he was still too tired. He leaned against the arm of the couch, and she reached down to pull his legs across her lap. Grateful for the affection, he stretched out more, and let the soothing motion of her hands scratching gently in his fur put him to sleep.

  
  


Kurt woke up again in the middle of the night. He wondered what those disrupters had done to him to make him so exhausted. He was hungry again and thirsty, and stumbled bleary-eyed to the kitchen. He felt better than he had last time he woke, but it was now after one in the morning. Rather early to be getting up, and Kitty was probably sound asleep.

He went to the bathroom, walking silently so he wouldn't wake her. She was under enough stress as it was. He didn't need to add lack of sleep to her list. When he came out, he heard a soft sound from her room, and thought at first she had a television on. Then he remembered she didn't have one. The sound repeated. Was she crying? He tapped on her door with one finger and pushed it open a crack so he could whisper to her.

“Kätzchen?” The sound stopped but she didn't answer him. “Are you awake?” Still no answer. He was sure he'd heard something. “Are you pretending to be asleep so I won't ask if you're crying?”

She snorted.

He wondered what to do. Obviously she didn't want to talk to him about it. He didn't want to push her or upset her again. “All right. If you want to talk later, I will probably be awake.”

He pulled the door shut as she said, “Wait.” There was soft rustling of fabric from inside and she said, “It's okay to come in.”

He pushed the door open and poked his head in. “I'll go away if you want me to, as long as you are all right.”

“No, it's okay.” She wiped her eyes. She _had_ been crying. “How are you feeling?”

He stepped into the room and leaned against the wall. She was sitting up in her bed now, the covers pooled in her lap. He remembered how often she had cried when they were first at Muir Island together, back when they thought the X-Men were dead. He'd catch her crying off and on, and she would get so angry about it. She insisted X-Men didn't cry.

He stayed at the wall when he answered her. “I feel better. Concerned about those devices, but I'm not very tired anymore.” He gave a short laugh.

“I was thinking about everything and it got to me. I'm tired and stressed out and not at my best.” She wiped her eye with the back of one hand.

“You don't have to explain.”

“You wanna sit up and talk or something? I'm not exactly sleeping.” She grabbed a tissue. “Or we could watch a movie.”

“I'll sit with you a while,” he said, thinking that perhaps he could help her get some sleep. Maybe if they sat in the dark talking and he set her mind at ease, she'd get sleepy. He sat on the edge of the bed.

“Are you sure you're okay now? I almost called Hank,” she said.

“I feel a lot better, honestly. Kätzchen, it was unbelievable. There must have been fifty devices in that room, all turned on at once. I don't understand how they work, but they were so powerful, combined as they were.”

“How'd you get stuck in there with all of them?”

He explained what had happened, and her eyes welled up again. “Dammit,” she muttered, grabbing another tissue.

“If it will make you feel better, I will call Hank in the morning, hm?”

She nodded and blew her nose. “Actually, it would make me feel a lot better. And he might have an idea what those things are or how they work.”

“How did you get me into the bed when I was passed out?” he said, the thought coming to him suddenly.

She smiled. “I'm really strong,” she said. “And you slide on hardwood floors. Like a dustmop.”

He clutched his chest. “You wound me, madam.”

She jabbed her foot at his leg from under the covers. “Yeah, but then all that dust wound up in my bed. I had to change the sheets before I could go to bed tonight.”

“Speaking of which, you should try to get some sleep.”

“I know. But it's okay right now because I don't have an exam tomorrow, and I don't work these two weeks at all.”

“When we couldn't sleep, my foster mother had a few tricks she used to use on us, when we were little. With Stephan, she would rub the back of his neck. With Jimaine she would sing—Stephan and I hated that.”

“What did she do with you?” Kitty asked, smirking.

“She would let me hang upside-down.”

Kitty laughed. “Why am I even surprised?” She tucked her knees up to her chin. “My mom used to sing, too. And my dad drew lines on my face, like he was following a maze. I'll fall asleep soon enough,” she said.

He got up and went to the door. “ _Gute Nacht_ , Kätzchen.”

  
  


Kurt spent the rest of the night in the living room alternately reading and trying to figure out how to keep Kitty in school. Ultimately if she decided to quit, he couldn't stop her, but she had talked about getting her degree for so long, and he knew how important it was to her.

She got up just after eight and made a cup of tea. Kurt was already dressed and on the phone with Hank, talking quietly. He gave Kitty a smile and thumbs up.

“Hank says there shouldn't be anything to worry about, but he'll give me a checkup when I get back. Just to be on the safe side.”

“Good.” She looked away. “I think you should leave.”

He went very still as every cell in his body turned to ice. Leave? Now? He tried to think of something witty to say, of anything to say, but words would not come.

She swallowed and gripped her cup in her lap. “I don't think it's safe for you to stay.”

“What about you?” he said. “It's even less safe for you.”

She refused to look at him. “I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you. Something worse than this,” she said, gesturing to him.

“Kitty, I face worse dangers than this every day.”

“Not on my account. You're only here because of me.”

“Of course I am. Do you honestly think I would abandon you because some idiots started a few fights?” He would have been insulted if he hadn't understood why she was asking him to do this. He would have done the same in her shoes.

“No, but I think you will if I ask you to.”

“Kätzchen, think what you are asking of me. To leave you here alone with people who want to harm you, maybe even kill you, and simply return to New York as if everything is fine? I cannot do that.”

“You have to,” she said, and she sounded desperate. “I can't lose you.”

“And I cannot lose you. So let us be more careful, _ja_?”

He put his hands on her face and kissed her forehead.

“You don't understand,” she said, her voice a whisper. “You were almost dead once, and I watched you sleeping every day for months. The past two days was like reliving that.”

“I'm sorry. But we didn't know. Now we do.” He could see he was wearing her down. She seemed to be considering letting him stay, and he gave her a hopeful smile.

She shook her head. “No, it's too risky.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I'll have Dylan kick you out.”

Kurt frowned. “Do you know how many times I've been injured in a fight? Countless. And many times worse than this. It's what I'm trained to do, Kitty. It's what you're trained to do, too. We're X-Men. We stand up for people who can't. Asking me to leave now is...it's asking me to stop doing that.”

She scowled at him, but he knew he'd finally won.

He stroked her hair. “I don't want anything to happen to me, either, but I especially don't want anything to happen to you.”

She finally conceded. “Fine. But don't expect any more sympathy from me.”

He accepted her reluctant agreement by fluffing her hair until she swatted at him.

  
  


When her exams were over, and school was out for the summer, Kurt tried to get her to come back to New York. She was adamant that she couldn't, because she had to keep her job at Belles of Hell. She needed the job because she needed the money because she needed the apartment because she couldn't have a roommate on campus for obvious reasons. And if she decided not to quit—she hadn't turned in her papers yet, but they were filled out—she needed to keep the apartment.

He couldn't stay all summer. He'd known he couldn't stay when he flew out, but the prospect of leaving her now was awful. But there were other things he had to do at home, and it seemed most of the Purity group had taken the summer off as well. He made her promise to let him know if they showed up again.

His room in the mansion felt empty and cold. He kept himself busy with work and exercise and other friends, but he always felt pulled back to her. They talked on the phone often, but not every day. She visited her mother and stayed off campus. There was no one in her parking lot in the evenings and signs didn't appear overnight. Everything was fine.

Until it wasn't.


	8. A Disappointment

When Kurt finally went back to New York, Kitty was relieved. If anything happened in Chicago, at least he wouldn't be in danger because of her. She wasn't fooling herself that the X-Men led dangerous lives, but she hated the idea of him being at risk because of her.

The downside was he was gone.

She fell into the summer routine of working longer hours, and visiting her mother on the weekends, but her apartment was silent when she came home every day and even talking to him on the phone left her missing him instead of feeling connected. The thought of another year of school seemed like a burden instead of a dream come true, but she had decided to try to stick it out.

Halfway through the summer, she decided to take two weeks off before classes resumed, and booked a flight to New York. Kurt sounded excited when she told him she was coming to visit him this time, and promised to run the Barsoom program in the Danger Room with her.

She didn't know quite how to take that promise, considering what had happened when he played last time with Rachel, but most likely he only meant to run it for her because she missed it. The entire flight to New York she spent trying to keep herself calm. She felt like she was going to see a celebrity, or a long-lost relative, or... her best friend.

No one met her at the airport, but that wasn't surprising, considering how busy the team was. With Betsy and Piotr both back, and things constantly falling apart around them, she made their excuses for them. She took a cab to the school, and texted Kurt that she was on her way. No one was waiting on the porch. When she went inside, Ororo happened to be in the hall and embraced her happily.

“Are you back for good?” she asked.

“No, just two weeks. I have one more year left.”

“Well, I suppose we'll have to wait for you then. Welcome home, Kitten,” she said, then gave her cheek a kiss and hurried off.

There were other people she knew passing by, who waved or greeted her as she walked upstairs to her old room.

It was full of boxes.

“What the hell?” It felt like when she'd gone back to her mom's for the first time after joining the X-Men. Her room was technically still there, with her things in it, but her mother and father had started putting boxes of things in it, piles of books and magazines, tools, holiday stuff, anything they didn't have a place for was being stashed in her old room. She felt strangely unwanted, though she knew her parents loved her.

Kitty stood in the doorway of her old room in New York and tried not to cry. She wondered why she'd spent the money to make the trip.

A bamf of smoke behind her was her only warning before Kurt's arms went around her in a big hug. “Kätzchen!”

“I texted you,” she said, turning around to hug him back.

“I just saw it,” he said. “I was downstairs with Logan and left the phone in my room.” Then he looked at hers and scratched his head. “I thought they had taken care of this.”

“What's going on?”

“There was some damage to the roof over several bedrooms down the hall, and during the repairs, personal belongings were moved to other rooms not in use at the time. I told them you were coming.”

“So...is there a spare room anywhere?”

“I don't know. Put your things in my room until we find out. Don't worry, I won't let you sleep in the kitchen,” he said with a grin. On first inspection, the usual spare rooms were also filled with boxes, or tools from the work crew, and in one case, someone's relatives were visiting.

“Someone will let you share a room with them. Don't worry. This is a mansion, after all.”

Kitty let Kurt's good mood lift her spirits and spent the afternoon visiting with him and her other friends. After dinner, a call came in, and Kurt was requested for the mission. Kitty tried not to let him see how disappointed she was. More than disappointed, crushed.

“Hopefully it won't be long,” he said, his smile meant to be reassuring. It wasn't. “On the up side, you can use my room while I'm gone.”

“Thanks.” She hugged him good-bye. “Be careful.”

  
  


Her last night at the school, she was so miserable she went to bed early. At first she had felt uncomfortable using Kurt's room as if it was her own, but she'd gotten used to it, out of necessity. Now, it felt foreign again, knowing she was leaving in the morning.

She wanted to leave it clean and tidy, so she spent part of the evening sweeping up and taking out the trash. She wiped down the bathroom and when she couldn't find his clean sheets without serious snooping, she decided she'd just strip the bed in the morning and leave a note, which she started writing that evening. She told him she was sorry he'd missed her visit and she hoped he'd be able to come back out to Chicago. Maybe he could come for the long weekend of Fall Break. If not, maybe Winter Break. Disappointment surged through her. She had wanted to spend these two weeks with Kurt, at least part of it, and now he'd missed all of it. She couldn't afford to take more time off, and she didn't have time to, either.

Kurt arrived home in the middle of the night, annoyed and frustrated at having been gone the full two weeks of Kitty's visit. Finding her sleeping in his bed was a pleasant surprise, but the note she'd left made his heart sink again. It was her last night. He'd missed it all.

He washed up in the bathroom as quietly as he could, keeping the lights off, and tiptoed back to the bedroom. He was debating sleeping on the floor when she turned her head and pushed up on one elbow. “Kurt?” He could see the way her eyes blinked in the darkness, looking for whoever had made the sound that woke her.

“ _Ja_ , Kätzchen, it's me. I just got back.”

She sat up and reached for the lamp beside his bed, but he was faster than her, and reached the bed first. Once his arms went around her, she fell into his embrace, no longer needing to see him. “I have to leave in the morning, really early,” she said, her voice tremulous, even muffled as it was by his nightshirt.

“I know. I saw your note. I'm so sorry, there was nothing I could do.”

“It's not your fault, I'm just really disappointed.”

“So am I. But I'm here now.”

“Here,” she said, starting to get up, “your bed, I know you're tired.”

“No, no. Stay.” He wanted to tell her how it made his heart race to come home to her in his bed. “You should go back to sleep. Your note said the flight is early.”

“I can sleep on the plane.” Her face, when she lifted it to his general vicinity in the dark, searching for him, was uncertain. “Sit here with me? Tell me about the mission.”

He stretched out on the bed beside her, propping his head on one hand, and she put her head on the pillow and her hand on his chest for what he assumed was reference. He was invisible in the shadows of his dark room, and he knew she couldn't see him at all. He imagined how disconcerting that must be.

“Is that my shirt?” he said, noticing what she was sleeping in.

She looked embarrassed. “Yeah.” She offered no explanation, and he decided he didn't want one.

He told her about the mission and how boring it had been, what a waste of time, then realized that wasn't helping the situation. He elaborated more about the people they'd helped, so at least she felt he had missed her visit for a good reason. She wasn't falling for it, he could see, but she pretended to.

Kitty couldn't see him at all, but she could feel the warmth of his hand where it rested on her hip over the covers. She wished he'd move it, wished he'd slide it down and pull her close, drag it up her thigh as he draped it over his hips. It stayed put, his thumb rubbing gently on her hipbone, protruding a little more than it ought to. She'd lost weight she hadn't meant to, fear and worry and stress taking their toll on her.

She wanted to stay awake, but the dark, and his soothing voice made her sleepy. She pressed her face against his chest and let her arm fall over his side. He ran his fingers through her hair, that sensation sending shivers down the back of her neck.

Kurt woke to her phone alarm, and enjoyed the briefest view of her backside crawling across the bed to silence it before she sat down to rub her eyes and bemoan the early morning. Kurt got up with her and waited for the taxi that would take her away from him once again. He was getting very tired of having to leave her.

  
  


Kitty tried to be honest with herself. It wasn't a _bad_ visit. It wasn't wasted. She spent lots of time with her other friends, and of course Piotr was elated to have her around. But she wasn't entirely happy. To make it worse, sleeping in Kurt's room made her miss him even more. Everything smelled like him, his things were everywhere, and she was in his bed. She used his bathroom (surprisingly clean for a man's bathroom) and his towels and his pillow. She should have loved it. She would have, if he'd been there. One night. One half a night, curled safely in his arms, that soft fur rubbing against her cheek when his nightshirt gaped open. If she could have found the courage to turn her face and kiss him...most likely it would have ended in shame and apologies that would never be enough to mend the rift it would surely rip between them.

Back in Chicago, she wasn't at all rejuvenated when classes started up again. After only a week, Purity began assembling again in front of the buildings. But this time, Kitty ignored them, phasing through them every time and tuning them out completely. It infuriated them. She loved it.

They showed up at her apartment complex again. They hung signs in the parking lot. She left them up. She spent all her free time working on her senior project and thesis, and stayed off campus unless she had a reason to be there.

She and Kurt talked often, but he wouldn't give her an answer about visiting, so she stopped asking. Fall Break was approaching, and as much as she wanted to beg him to come out and see her, she couldn't. He seemed his usual happy Elf-self when she talked to him, and she couldn't help but wonder if he missed her at all. He didn't seem to.

Kitty walked home after her last class before Fall Break, listening to the sounds of other college students rushing off to catch the train so they could go home-home, not school-home. They were going to see families or friends, and she was going back to an empty apartment because she had to work to pay for the apartment that saved her from rooming with a potential mutant-hating group of people.

She set her books on the chair and went to the refrigerator for a beer. She hadn't even opened it when someone knocked on the door. She sighed. They'd started already, the Purity jerks who harassed her last semester. She had hoped the summer would have broken up the group, maybe they would have found some other interests and hobbies to devote all their free time to, but so far, it appeared they hadn't.

She looked at the monitor and the friendly face waving into the camera that only he knew about, and she practically tore the door off its hinges in her haste to open it. Kurt held out his arms.

“Surprise!” he said.

Kitty didn't move. She stared at him, happy and shocked.

“I can't do this anymore,” she said flatly.

His arms and smile fell. “What? School's that bad? You didn't mention anything...”

“No. You.”

She didn't give him time to respond.

“I can't keep pretending I don't—look out!” She grabbed his arm, phasing him almost in time. Almost.

  
  


Everything hurt and she couldn't see. The floor was hard and it was dark, and Kitty didn't know where she was. The last thing she remembered was someone from Purity coming up her apartment building stairs and shining a massive disrupter light in her face. She had reached for Kurt...

She tried to talk, to call his name, but her mouth was dry. It took her a minute of working her tongue around her teeth to get her mouth open. Even then, her voice came out dry and raspy, and she wasn't sure it was audible at all.

There was an answering sound from somewhere, and she hoped it was him. She couldn't phase. Her hands and ankles were tied behind her back, and she was face down on the floor of wherever they were. She wanted to vomit. She hadn't felt this bad since...Bodybag? No. The Warwolf? No, not even that.

She tried again to form words, but only a low moan came out. She shut her eyes tight when the lights came on, too bright, brighter than normal lights, she was sure. Her head pounded and her body ached.

Someone kicked her onto her back and laughed. A hand on her face forced one eye open.

Alice.

Kitty wanted to spit in her face but she didn't have enough saliva to even speak.

“You made a bad call coming back this year,” Alice said. “And your hideous little friend has really impeccable timing. Because now, I think you'll do everything I tell you to do.”

Kitty opened her other eye as Alice jerked her chin at someone else. She surveyed what she could see of the room, some empty basement space in a building somewhere. Nothing to identify where they were, but she had the feeling they might be on campus somewhere. The tiles looked familiar.

Michael dragged Kurt across the floor by his tail. He had an inhibitor collar around his neck, and like her, his hands and feet were bound behind his back. She couldn't tell if he was conscious or not. Kitty's senses returned in a panicked flood of awareness that made her heart flutter as Michael leveled a real gun at Kurt's head.

She thought quickly. Alice was going to make demands and threaten to kill Kurt. Kurt was in bad shape, too, and Alice and Michael had the advantage. Still, Kurt hadn't lasted this long as an X-Man for no reason. She forced herself to ignore Michael.

Alice watched as Kitty's eyes refocused on her face.

“That's right. Now listen carefully. You're going to make yourself useful to me, or your friend over there's gonna get his brains splattered across the floor. Got it?”

Kitty tried to nod.

Alice laughed. “Good.”

Alice began outlining what she wanted Kitty to do: break into the registrar's office, reinstate Alice and Michael to good standing, remove the block on their records, and destroy any evidence that they had ever been kicked out of the school. And then kill the Dean of Students.

Kitty managed to give Alice a look that expressed her disdain for her little plan. If she agreed too readily, Alice wouldn't believe her.

“You're the reason we got kicked out, and you're going to be the reason we get back in. And when you're done, you're leaving, too.”

Kitty was really confused. Why were Alice and Michael out of school? She hadn't done anything to cause that. And kill the Dean? Was Alice insane? She looked back at Kurt, the gun, Michael standing over him, Alice.

“No.”

Alice's triumphant face faltered a moment, then turned to seething anger. Kitty swung her legs up and to the side, knocking Alice to the floor, at the same Kurt twisted around to catch Michael behind the knees. The gun fired, echoing loudly in the empty room. Michael went down hard, his head cracking audibly on the hard floor. Alice scrabbled to her feet, and Kitty tried to trip her again. The bindings were too much of a hindrance, and once Alice was out of reach, she calmly took the gun from Michael's unconscious fingers.

“Now. About that plan?” She fired the gun and Kitty saw blood spray from Kurt's arm as he yowled in pain. “I kill him next time you fight me.”

Kitty nodded.

“Get up,” Alice said.

Kitty didn't move. Alice leveled the gun at Kurt again. “Get. Up. I'm not stupid enough to get close to either of you again, bitch.”

The way she was tied up and disoriented from the disrupter lights made it nearly impossible for her to roll upright. She tried, failed, failed again.

Alice turned to scream something at Kitty, and Kurt rolled and yanked her arm with his tail, sending the gun skittering across the room. Kitty rolled towards Alice, who tripped over Michael when she stumbled back. Then Kitty smashed her feet into Alice's head, knocking her out.

It was exhausting. Kitty remembered how long Kurt had slept after they'd used multiple disrupters on him, and hoped they could get themselves free before someone else came looking, or Alice and Michael woke up. Kurt grabbed her ankles with his tail and managed to work the ties free.

“Turn,” he said, his voice strained. She spun around and he worked her hands loose. Once they were both free again, Kurt smashed the collars on the floor and struggled to his feet.

Standing was difficult. Her head spun and the room tilted. She pitched forward, catching herself at the wall. Kurt grabbed her hand and she pulled him through the wall with her. The other side of the wall was solid dirt, and with rising panic, she started 'swimming' through it, upwards, Kurt mimicking her movements. They emerged at last, coughing and gasping for breath, sprawling onto the grass long enough to get their bearings.

Kitty looked around and recognized the library courtyard on campus. “That's the library,” Kitty said. “This way.”

“No, not your place.” Kurt shook his head.

“Then where?” They had no money. “Dylan.”

Neither of them was in any shape to travel very far, but with arms around each other, they managed to reach Dylan's apartment. There, Kitty broke one of her own rules and phased them into his apartment. She scrawled a note on a pad of paper and propped it up on his counter where he couldn't miss it. Kurt went straight into the bathroom, presumably to deal with the bullet wound. She could hear water running, and it made her thirsty. She poured two glasses of water and drank hers in one go. Kurt came out with his arm bandaged and fell into Dylan's armchair. Kitty took the water to him and sat down in his lap to put her arms around him. He accepted her presence without complaint, holding her with shaking arms.

“These people need to be dealt with,” he said.

She nodded, her cheek moving up and down over the fuzz on his neck. “Yes,” she said.

“What did she mean about them being kicked out of school?”

“I don't know. I never did anything.”

“The university might not have much recourse if they're no longer students, other than possibly filing trespassing charges.”

“We need to take out the whole group. I can't do this anymore. I can't learn with people threatening me and my friends.”

So that's what she'd been about to tell him, he thought.

“How's your arm?” she said, sitting up, but not moving from the chair. He put his arm around her and shifted slightly to a more comfortable position.

“It hurts, but I'll live.”

“Tough guy.”

He chuckled, but his eyes were closed, and Kitty rested her head in the crook of his shoulder and closed her eyes too.


	9. A Confession

Kitty woke to Dylan's surprised voice. “What the hell?”

She jerked upright to find him reading her note. Kurt woke when she got up, testing her legs. She could stand without wanting to crumble to the floor, but she still felt weak.

“They attacked you again?” Dylan said. “You should press charges.”

“We did when the group attacked Kurt in my parking lot, but guess who got sent a way and guess who got a warning?” Kitty said, scowling.

Dylan frowned, too, and ran a hand through his hair. “I can talk to the guys at the bar,” he suggested.

“Don't worry about it, Dylan. I don't want you getting involved in this,” Kitty said, eating the sandwich he offered her.

“I'm sorry I can't do much then,” he said.

“Don't apologize, Dylan. The fact you aren't kicking us out is a testament to what a great guy you are.” Kurt said. “Kitty and I will figure something out before night.”

Kitty was stretched out on Dylan's floor, still recovering from whatever Alice and Michael had done to her. Kurt was back in the armchair, feet tucked under him in his familiar crouch.

“We have to go back to my apartment at some point,” Kitty said. “All my stuff is there, your stuff's there, our money. Assuming they didn't ransack the place already.” She sat up and waited for the brief spinning to stop. “And I'm going to take leave from school.”

Kurt crawled off the chair to join her on the floor. She put her hand on his knee before he could say a word.

“I know, it's not ideal. I want to finish, I just...I can't work like this. I have to deal with them so I can concentrate. If I take the semester off, hopefully we can get things under control.”

“It will set you back.”

“I know. It won't be the first time.” She tried to give him a reassuring smile.

This time he was sure she had made up her mind, and he had to admit, she had a good point. He couldn't expect her to keep going to class when people were attacking her and threatening her and her friends. But he was angry that it had come to this.

“I want to know why Alice and Michael were expelled,” he said.

“So do I. And I'd like to get my hands on one of those weapons. If I can figure out how it works, maybe we can come up with a way to counteract it.”

“Then we can find them and destroy them.”

Dylan stepped over them to hang up his coat. “I got you covered for tonight,” he said. “Stay here til you both feel better. Neither of you looks to be in any shape to fight a mob like them. X-Men or not.”

Kitty agreed. She hauled herself to her feet and hugged Dylan. “Thanks. Look, if they come after you or ask about me, you say whatever you have to to make them leave you alone. Tell them you fired me or something.”

He nodded, but he didn't look too happy.

Kitty dropped onto a stool at Dylan's kitchen bar and put her head on her arms. “If I can hack into the college system I might be able to find out why they were expelled. I think that might answer some of our questions.”

“I want to find their weapons stash.”

Kitty hated the idea of splitting up, and was reluctant to let him tackle such a mission on his own. Purity had probably figured out he was the anonymous person in their meeting, and they'd know his voice now. His southern accent wasn't _that_ convincing.

Dylan offered them more food, which they both accepted. She and Kurt spent the rest of the day planning and resting, building up their strength again in case they met up with more Purity members, or worse, Alice and Michael and their weapons. Dylan went to work in the afternoon, and Kitty thanked him again for his hospitality and friendship.

“We need a place to stay,” Kurt said. He was on his back with his feet propped up on Dylan's chair. “And you said the hotels are pricey.”

“They are. Unless we wanna stay in a rat hole.” She was sitting on the floor beside Kurt, her head tipped against his knee, fiddling with his hand.

“What other options do we have?”

“Not many. I'm not bringing my mom into this. We can't stay here. I can't afford another apartment.”

“Rat hole it is then. I'll cover it.”

“No, I will. This is _my_ problem.”

He sat up on his elbows, pulling his hand away from hers. If he hadn't looked so stern, she might have been surprised at his ability to fold himself so nearly in half. “No, it is _our_ problem. We are both mutants, and they hate all mutants. And they shot me.”

“Okay, you're right,” she said, conceding with a smile. He lay down again, satisfied.

“If we get close enough to your apartment to scope the area, I can teleport to the roof and you can let us in that way.”

“There's a really seedy motel a couple streets over. Looks like the walls could fall in any minute. Rates are cheap though.”

“Perfect. Bring your laptop.”

Kitty started a list in her head of everything she'd need to do her part of the plan—hacking into the school's databases. She hoped Purity hadn't gone through her apartment.

  
  


Kitty lay flat on the roof of a neighboring building while Kurt surveyed her apartment from the shadows. Finally he determined it was safe to proceed, and they teleported to the roof of Kitty's building. From there, they phased down through the ceiling of her apartment.

At first she thought it was all right, but then she began to notice things they'd done. Ripped up school papers. Broken glass in the sink and on the kitchen floor, something had been burned in a trash can in her bathtub. Her school bag was missing, including her computer, and Kurt's bag as well was gone.

They had left the lights off, but even in the dark it was obvious Purity had gone through everything. All her drawers, all her cabinets. She stood in the middle of the living room and shook. Kurt went from room to room looking for anything they could salvage. Behind a chair near the front door, where coats had fallen, Kurt found her purse. She opened it and pulled out her wallet. Her new phone and her keys were gone with her school bag, but at least she had her wallet.

She couldn't quite manage a smile but she said, “At least you can't try to pay for the hotel now.”

“Actually,” he said, pulling a slim wallet out from a hidden pocket in his clothes, “I can.”

She burst into tears.

He rushed over to her, folding her up in his arms. “But I won't, if it upsets you that much. Kätzchen, listen to me, there is time for this later. Right now, we should probably leave. Who knows if they'll come back. The place could be bugged or monitored now.”

She pulled herself together and they phased back through the ceiling to the roof. From there, Kurt teleported them several roofs over. They could see the cheap motel from there. The sign was partly out, and there were people in the parking lot hanging around under a lamppost.

“I wish you had your image inducer,” she said. “So they can't identify us as easily.”

“Nothing we can do about that right now.”

They phased down in the alley and walked the rest of the way to the motel. The people in the parking lot looked up at their approach but said nothing. The man behind the desk looked bored. The motel was old, with all the rooms on two floors in a U-shaped complex. Their room was on the first floor near the end. It was musty smelling inside, and the carpet was probably from the fifties. The wallpaper was peeling, and in some places the plaster underneath showed through. The curtains were threadbare with gaps in them, and the lamps wobbled on their bases.

Kitty didn't want to touch anything. She stared at the bed, sunken in the middle, with flat pillows and a bedspread that had no color left in it.

Kurt was scratching his head when she turned to him. “You were quite serious about the seediness.”

“This was a bad idea, Kurt. How can we sleep here?” Tears threatened her eyes again, and she wiped harshly at them.

“I have an idea,” he said. “I'll be back in a few minutes.” He kissed her, but what was meant for her cheek brushed the corner of her mouth, too, and she couldn't even ask him where he was going.

She turned on every light and inspected the mattress for bedbugs. Then she stood at the TV stand and made notes in the notebook she'd brought since her laptop was gone. Kurt returned an hour later, and she was about to fuss at him when she saw what he'd brought with him. He had a blanket, a can of disinfectant, food, and earplugs.

“Just in case.” He grinned as he spread the blanket on top of the faded bedspread. “Now at least you can sleep, hm?”

“Did you go back to my apartment?” she said.

He looked chagrined. “For some of it, _ja_. I was careful.”

“Kurt, you can't...that was really dangerous.” She didn't have the energy to scold him more than that. And she was grateful for what he'd done.

“I have to tell you something,” she said, heart pounding as she watched him fix as much as he could. He could have gone home to New York, but every time things got bad for her here, he stayed. And he helped. There was so much going wrong in her life, she'd reached a point where she felt numb. She wanted to feel something, and if it meant feeling excruciating pain when he answered her with the kindness she knew he would give her, it was better than feeling like this.

“I know,” he said, stopping her in her tracks. “It's impossible to go on like this.”

“Yeah...how...how did you know?”

He finished straightening the blanket and sat down. “You were pretty clear earlier.”

“I was?” She didn't remember telling him before. Had she said more to him than she remembered, before they were attacked? “Okay. Well. How, uh, how do you feel about it then?”

He shrugged. “It seems logical to me.”

“That's your response? It's _logical_? What, are you Spock now?”

“What? It simply makes sense. And I agree, you can't go on like this.”

She furrowed her brows in thought, staring at him in confusion and uncertainty. “Humor me. What makes sense?”

“Taking a semester off of school to root out Purity and stop them. Isn't that what you're talking about?”

Now she wasn't sure she should tell him. Twice the moment had slipped away, and maybe it was the universe telling her it was a bad idea. Maybe she should shut up and pretend it was nothing after all.

“Yeah. Yeah, of course. I'm...my mind is still really foggy, that's all.”

She sat down on the clean blanket. “I'll have to go on campus now to do my hacking. That's a little trickier.”

“I thought of that, too. Perhaps we can find a location close to where I will be going. Although, not too close.”

He grabbed the bag of food and started digging. He handed her a chocolate bar. “It's not German but it's not terrible.”

“Thanks.”

He dumped out the rest of the food, ignoring the creaking of the old mattress as he settled in one corner across from her, legs crossed. “Now we can pretend we are having a picnic in a meadow.”

“You're kidding.”

“I am not. I have an imagination. Let's see...the walls are trees and... _Was_? Don't look at me like that. I'm doing my best to make a bad situation tolerable.”

“I love you.”

He smiled easily and replied, “I love you, too, Kätzchen. We'll get through this, _ja_? I won't leave you to deal with it alone.”

“You've already gone above and beyond what any friend would do.”

“Mm, perhaps because I am not simply 'any' friend.” He grinned, that charming, devilish smile that made most women melt for him.

“Laying it on thick tonight, Elf.”

“Am I? I didn't mean to. I've been working on not doing that.”

“Really? You mean flirting or playing Errol Flynn?”

“Both, I suppose. You and Rachel were right, and I thought a lot about it. I don't want to be a man women don't trust. Because...especially because the right woman...I want her to know...”

“She will, Kurt.”

“I hope so. I realized...” he opened a granola bar and took a bite, remembering that moment in Kitty's kitchen, when she balked. Looking back, he thought if he hadn't been such a cad for so long, she might have let him kiss her. Maybe not, but he decided he'd never have a chance if he didn't make some changes. Kitty waited. “I realized if I kissed any woman who seemed willing, then it became meaningless. And that the woman I love won't believe I'm sincere.”

“Wow. You figured all that out? That's great. That's...wait. Did you say...are you in love with someone?”

Silence hung in the room so thick Kitty felt like it had swallowed her. She saw him nodding, saw his mouth move in response. It felt like a whole second later that the sound reached her ears. “Yes.”

“Oh.” She wasn't sure how she managed even that response. The chocolate she was eating was suddenly tasteless, but she ate it anyway for something to do.

“Kitty?” He reached across and touched her hand. “Are you all right? You're very pale.”

“I'm fine. Just, uh, no more chocolate right now...” She set it down and wiped her face, desperate for the pounding in her chest to stop forcing her throat to be so tight.

“Don't pass out,” Kurt said, leaning across now, and pushing her down on her side. He grabbed a bottle of water with his tail and held it out to her, encouraging her to drink it.

She tried to protest but the truth was she did feel light-headed. She blamed the stress of the past year. People can only take so much, right? He fussed over her, and she finally pushed him away. “Just stop, Kurt, I'm fine.”

“You're not fine, you almost passed out. You must still be fatigued from Alice and Michael's weapons.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

Kurt scooped up all the food he'd laid out on the blanket and hung the plastic bag from a doorknob. Kitty stretched out on the bed, facing the wall, then curled her knees up to her chest. She didn't want him to be tempted to touch her in the night.

She closed her eyes tight, and he clicked off the light and climbed in beside her, his back to her. She reasoned with herself. It didn't matter, he was still her friend. He wouldn't forget about her. She remembered a moment with Cerise, when he'd first been infatuated with her, and had snapped at Kitty over gearing up like the Terminator for a fight in Rachel's timeline. _But that was a long time ago. He won't do that this time_. She choked back a sob. If he heard her, he'd be sympathetic and kind and gentle and make it all worse.

He rolled over, pressing his chest against her back and pulling her curled up body closer. “Kätzchen, everything will be all right. I'm here, and I'll help.”

She couldn't take it, his kindness, his friendship, his not-love. “Let go of me, Kurt. Stop it, just stop. She yanked herself out of his grip, and he let go and backed away. She felt terrible then, guilty, because he didn't understand. “Dammit,” she muttered. “Look, I can't do this. You can't do this, you can't...you can't sleep like this with me, and then expect another woman to be okay with it, so just _stop_.”

It was silent so long, she thought he might have gone to sleep, deciding it wasn't worth arguing with her.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'll make sure to give you space.”

She groaned in frustration. “You didn't make me uncomfortable, but you're in love with someone else! You can't be like that with me.”

He laughed.

She sat up and whirled on him, angry now—so much better than miserable.

Before she could yell at him, he said, “No, I'm not.”

“No you're—what? You just told me you're in love with someone!”

“I am.”

She poked her finger into his chest. “You aren't making any sense and it's pissing me off.”

He wrapped his hand around hers and bent his face close to hers, so their eyes were inches away. “I'm not in love with someone else. I'm in love with you.”

“What?” Her voice cracked.

“If that wasn't clear enough, I don't know what else to say.”

“No, I...I...”

“Lie down and go to sleep, Kätzchen. I won't bother you in the night. But please do not make me sleep on the floor.” He sounded so resigned as he turned away. She grabbed his shirt, and he froze.

“Please don't lecture me tonight, Kätzchen,” he said. He kept his eyes averted now, his courage failing now that the words were spoken.

“But that's what I was trying to tell you before,” she said, loosening her grip on his shirt.

It was his turn to be confused and surprised. “ _Was_?”

“I'm tired of pretending I'm not in love with you.” She let her hands fall as her words sank in. “Because I'm in love with you.”

It felt like the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders, to finally say the words and tell him. No more secrets, no more pretense, no more smiling through her heartache. Kurt looked stunned.

“Kätzchen,” he said, and very slowly his arms went around her waist and dragged her across the bed. She squirmed closer, until she had tucked her cheek against his shoulder and locked her arms around him. His breath tickled her hair. She could feel his heart beating against her chest, her own alongside it, and for the first time she felt at peace. Whatever happened here, with school, she'd figure it out. It was all surmountable now that she was no longer afraid of losing the one person who meant everything to her.


	10. One More Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's sex in this chapter.

They staked out one of the lesser-used computer labs for an hour, until they were both satisfied that Kitty would be relatively safe there. A quick trip to a dollar store bought a hat and scarf, and she put her hair in a bun to alter her appearance enough to buy her a few moments if one of the Purity members came in. She had a good view of the entrance, but she was behind enough monitors that she wasn't immediately visible, either. Kurt crouched beside her, all business, while she looked up the student directory.

The motel was not conducive to romance, and Kitty was exhausted. They'd gone directly to sleep after their confusing confessions. In the morning, everything was a rush to get the plan under way. They could discuss other things when the danger was past.

Kurt wasn't sure he hadn't dreamed it all when he woke up. He'd fantasized enough times about her confessing her love for him that he was afraid to ask. Then he caught her looking at him with the most openly loving expression, and she said it again, and he still couldn't believe it, even as he said it back to her. But there was work to be done. Kitty wasn't safe until Purity was dealt with.

One of their biggest obstacles was figuring out where they kept their disrupter weapons. At the one meeting Kurt had gone to, they had already had them in the room, and he'd barely made it out of that meeting. Following them afterwards had not been an option. He and Kitty hoped to find some starting points with the student directory. From dorm rooms, it might be possible to trail some of the Purity group members and hopefully find their hideout. Or hideouts. He doubted they were keeping the weapons on campus.

Kitty wrote down a bunch of dorm rooms and their locations for Kurt, and then hacked her way into the scheduling database and pulled up the same members' schedules. She printed those out, along with a map of campus, and they marked out a possible route for him to take in his search.

Kurt took the papers and folded them up, stuffing them into the hidden pocket of his uniform. They didn't have their phones anymore, so communication wasn't possible. They'd have to hope nothing went wrong and rely on scheduled meet-ups. He kissed her cheek before he left.

He'd be fine. She stared at the screen, typing out commands and watching information spool. He was an X-Man. He'd be fine. Don't think about the meeting that had him almost unconscious for nearly two days. Don't think about Alice shooting him. He'd be fine.

She got into the registrar's files and pulled up the two on Alice and Michael, printing them out as she started reading them on the screen. When she was finished she wiped the computer of as much of her trail as possible, and slipped out through the wall. She carried the papers in a plastic bag, hurrying through campus to their predetermined rendezvous point.

He was already there. “You're early,” she said.

“You will never believe what happened.”

“Try me.” She handed him the plastic bag and he peeked inside, then grinned at her. “I found where they are keeping those weapons. Care to guess?”

He hadn't been gone long enough to do an extensive search so she said, “One of their dorm rooms?”

“Exactly. Or rather, several of them. Stacked to the ceiling. I do not know how they are getting away with it, unless their roommates are also members of Purity.”

“Or Purity is lying about what they are. They look like lights.”

“True. But it also creates a new dilemma. I saw three different dorm rooms with the weapons in them, and I brought one back already,” he gestured under a bush nearby. “And guess what else I found?”

Her face lit up with hope. “Please tell me it's our stuff.”

He nodded, his grin showing his pointed teeth. He dragged two bags out from the same bush. Kitty started digging through hers immediately. “My laptop, my papers, all my stuff, my phone—Kurt, you're amazing!”

“True, but how are we going to destroy all of these weapons without Purity finding out? If we destroy one stash, and they come home...”

“I got it. They'll raise the alarm and the others will still have their stash. Clever assholes.” It was a setback, but she was too happy to let it stop her now.

Kurt sat back on his heels and watched her think. She chewed her lip and looked off into the distance and all he wanted to do was kiss her. Maybe then it would feel real.

“If we can keep them out of their buildings for a while, maybe we can buy ourselves enough time,” she said. “Maybe I can delete their card key access, or wreck up the reader. Then they'll have to get campus tech to fix it. That'll take forever, but someone will probably just let them inside.” She talked aloud and Kurt let her go. If anyone could figure out a plan it was Kitty. How often had she done that for them? How often had anyone thought to acknowledge it?

“If we can force the doors to lock so no one can get in or out...” She was animated suddenly, peering out from their hiding place. “I have to go back to the lab.”

  
By that afternoon, roughly one hundred disrupters were smashed in the parking lots of various dorms across the campus, and Kitty was writing up an anonymous letter to the head of campus security.

“Radiation...” she muttered while she wrote. “Parents are concerned...” She giggled. “Okay, I think that's it. You wanna read it?”

Kurt looked over her shoulder in the computer lab, his hands on her shoulders and her hair in his face, and it was very hard to read the screen.

“Are you reading it?” she said.

“No.”

“Okay, I'm sending it.”

“This won't stop them,” he said as he kissed her cheek.

“No, but it'll set them back a long time. Maybe long enough for me to get back on track with school. Maybe I won't even have to take the semester off after all.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he said, still kissing her cheek, up into her hairline and over her temple.

“Come on, let's get out of here.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the wall.

  
  


“We'll leave the blanket here,” Kurt said as they gathered up the rest of the food and their things.

“Definitely. I don't want to know what it was touching under there.” She smiled at Kurt. “Where to?”

“We can pick up anything you need from your apartment, but I don't think we should stay there until we know how they react.”

“I don't need anything but Kurt, where am I gonna stay? If I try to finish school...”

“For now,” he said, “Rates be damned, we're getting a nice hotel room for a few days.”

“Kurt—”

“No argument this time. I want to see what Purity does, and I want a nice shower and a decent bed. Your apartment isn't safe. In fact, you should look for a new one.”

That was one more thing on her list of worries. She wasn't convinced Purity would quit, or that she'd be able to finish school even after taking out their weapons. If they had the means to procure those in the first place, they probably had a way to get more. Kitty hoisted her bag onto her shoulders and they headed into a nicer part of the neighborhood, where there were several hotels to choose from.

They stopped in the parking lot of a tall hotel. “This one has a pool and a gym and a bunch of free stuff like breakfast and wi-fi,” she said, looking it up on her phone.

The desk clerk was more curious than the motel clerk had been, but aside from giving them both odd looks during their transaction, she didn't say anything. Kurt turned on the charm and by the time they had their room keys, the woman was smiling and blushing.

In the elevator, Kitty folded her arms and tapped her foot.

“If she likes us, she's less likely to give away our information.”

“You're an incurable flirt.”

“That's...” He sighed. “I hope the incurable part isn't true.”

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped into the quiet hallway, sound dampened by the thick carpet. Kitty's stomach began to flutter when Kurt opened the door to their room, but he didn't seem to notice. He smiled as he let her in ahead of him, securing the door from inside, and immediately checking out the windows for escape routes and possible attack points.

Kitty dropped her bag beside the bed and sat down on the end of it. “You wanna shower first?” she said.

He set his bag on one of the chairs by the window and started digging things out of it, sighing with relief when he pulled out this or that, putting some things back and placing others on the table. He piled up clean clothes and glanced at her. “Why don't you go ahead?”

Everything felt bigger than it was, the break-in to her apartment, the destruction of the weapons, the group so full of hate and rage. Her shoulders shook as tears began to fall. She didn't even try to stop this time. Kurt dropped his clean clothes on the floor in his hurry to get to her side. He sat beside her and opened his arms, swallowing her in his embrace.

“I'm so sorry all this has happened,” he said, “I will stay as long as you need me. We'll get through this together, like always, _ja_?”

She nodded and managed a smile. “That's why I love you,” she said.

“Take the first shower,” he said. “In fact, take a bath if you want. I did interrupt your last one rather rudely.”

“Maybe later. Right now I just want to get clean and lie down.”

She pulled her bag over and grabbed clean clothes while he picked up what he'd dropped in his haste to comfort her. The shower was hot and she took her time, letting the water wash away some of her stress, at least for the moment.

While Kurt showered, she considered checking her laptop for issues, but decided she needed a break and turned on the television instead. There was nothing on that interested her, and she turned it off, tossing the remote aside just as Kurt emerged from the bathroom.

“Nothing good on?” he said.

“Nah.” She rolled to her side to watch him putting his things away. He dug to the bottom of his bag and with a grin, produced the image inducer.

He put the bag away at last, and stood beside the table, looking out the window again.

“Kurt?”

He turned slowly. The moment was not lost on him, this last moment before everything changed.

“Kätzchen.”

She sat up as he moved to the bed, crawling half onto it with one knee as his hand went around her back. She welcomed his kiss with parted lips and eager hands at his neck. Kitty closed her eyes and let him draw her closer. She swung her leg over his lap and pressed the curves of her body against his. He was warm everywhere, and she let her hands drift down his back to rest at his waist, fingers tickling in the fuzz between his pants and the hem of his shirt.

She moved her hands, sliding around to the front and pushing his shirt up to feel the fuzz on his chest and abs. The space between them was hot, his body hard and pressing against her as she squirmed. His fingers toyed with the hem of her shirt, stroking lightly up her sides.

She leaned back, and his lips moved down her throat to her chest without hesitation. “Kurt,” she moaned, “Take it off.”

He wasted no time in doing so, tossing her t-shirt aside and then discarding his own. Kitty ran her hands down his chest, and he bent to nuzzle her neck. He shifted them, laying her onto her back on the bed so he could kiss her newly bared skin. He dragged his tongue across her nipple and she gasped, grabbing at his hair with one hand.

He curled his tail around her thigh, pulling upward and bending her knee. He slid his hand down the underside of her thigh and up the back of her shorts to pull her hips against him. He pressed so fully and deliciously between her legs that she arched her back, squeezing her eyes shut. She was too hot, soaking wet, and falling apart under his hands and his mouth.

He moaned around her breast, sucking at the nipple as he lifted his head. “Kätzchen,” he said, his voice slightly ragged, “I want to feel all of you.”

“Yes,” she said, “Please.”

He moved down, kissing at her stomach as he hooked his fingers in her shorts and gently pulled them over her hips and down her legs. He kicked his own off, too, murmuring in German as he crawled up her body, fur sliding over her skin. He nipped gently at the inside of her thighs and she let them fall open to him as his hot tongue slid inside of her.

Everything narrowed to the feel of his tongue and his lips and his hands on her body. She gripped the bedspread, muscles tightening in her legs and abdomen, tighter, tighter. She choked out a gasp of pleasure as the tightness suddenly snapped and rushed out.

She opened her eyes. Kurt was still between her legs, kissing across her belly and her legs and running his hand up and down her chest. She sat up and reached for his face, desperately closing her mouth over his to kiss him. She drew him back onto the bed, easing him down beside her. “I want to touch you,” she said, pulling her lips away from his and gliding her tongue along his jaw.

His tremulous response, “Touch me,” made her heart beat even faster. She sat up and looked at him for the first time, fur so dark blue in places as to almost be black, eyes shining up at her, mouth open slightly as he panted. She let her gaze move down his body slowly, taking in every detail of muscle, the hard buds of his nipples, the ridges of his abs, the length and girth of his cock resting against his pelvis.

She ran her hands through his fur, down his thighs, scratching against the grain as she moved upwards and stopped at his hips. “Touch me, Kätzchen, please,” he said.

She pressed her thumb up the length of his cock, enjoying the sounds he made, then curled her fingers around him, thumb rubbing at the underside while he moaned her name.

When she ducked her head and took him into her mouth, she felt the rumbling in his chest. His hands were in her hair, his knees bent, his tail twisting around her thigh, wending its way between her legs. She paused long enough to whimper softly when the spade tip pressed between slick folds, and when it flicked against the most sensitive places, she moaned.

“Kitty, Kätzchen, wait,” he panted, “wait, I—I—”

She licked her lips and stretched herself along his body like a cat, and his eyes fluttered as her smooth skin dragged over his cock. He placed a hand on her back and deftly rolled her to her back, kissing frantically at her lips and neck. He pulled her hips up his knees and looked at her face, waiting.

“I want you, Kurt,” she said, and as he repeated it back to her, he slid inside. Stars flashed in her vision as he moved, hands braced on her hips and his wicked tail rubbing between. Her limbs tingled and she came again. Kurt finished moments later, dropping his head to her stomach to place weak kisses there before lying down beside her to hold her against him.

Kitty didn't go to class again until after the weekend. When she did, Kurt stuck to the shadows and watched, but there seemed to be no members of Purity on campus. Instead, campus security was stationed around the school. While she was in class, Kurt did some scouting, listening in on some of the conversations between security and campus police officers.

Alice and Michael had been arrested for violating a no trespassing order, but they would probably make bail. The Purity group was allowed to meet, but not assemble in front of classrooms. The University president had declared their presence distracting and disgraceful to the University's reputation.

Kurt and Kitty spent almost three days at the hotel, before venturing out to find her a new apartment. Kitty installed cameras immediately, and an alarm system. After a week of classes, and no incidents, Kurt had to head back to New York.

“I'll come back next month,” he promised as he bent to kiss her. “And the following month.”

“I won't work Winter Break,” she said. “Don't plan any missions while I'm home this time.”

“I won't make that mistake again,” he said. They both knew it wasn't any guarantee. If there was trouble, he went.

“Maybe you could stay just one more night,” Kitty said, curling her fingers in the collar of his shirt. “I have a late class tomorrow.”

He wrapped his leg around her calf and pulled her closer, settling his hips against hers. She leaned back, arms resting on his shoulders, waiting for his decision.

“I never did finish that bath you interrupted.”

“Yes you did. I drew it myself.”

“But I still think you owe me another one. I'm sure I can come up with a reason.” She nodded encouragement, biting her lip playfully.

“Well, I certainly can't shirk my obligations,” he said, stepping back into her apartment and shutting the door with his foot as he swept her up in his arms. “One more day,” he said as he carried her to her bedroom.


End file.
